All But Blood
by OmegaArcher
Summary: My take on what would happen if Naruto found a baby girl and decided to adopt her. Post-War. Diverges from the manga at around chapter 648. Eventual NaruHina as well as a couple other pairings. Rated T for implications and swearing. All reviews welcome. I know it's a pretty slow start, but bear with me.
1. The Discovery

Naruto kicked a loose rock from the path, cursing his bad luck. He was on his way home to Konoha from yet another one of Granny Tsunade's boring 'Hokage training' missions, which were basically just her way of trying to get him to take care of diplomatic affairs.

This time it had been a trip to Iwagakure for a brief meeting with the Tsuchikage. Naruto loved the chance to see the friends he had there but it was such a menial task that it hardly befit his new Jonin rank. _I'm a Jonin,_ he chuckled slightly to himself.

Since the end of the Fourth Shinobi War a mere six months had passed. During that time all of Naruto's friends, even Sasuke, had been promoted to Jonin and were well on the way to attaining high influence positions. He himself was being groomed to become the sixth Hokage, and while he enjoyed the attention and praise that came from being a hero to all five villages part of him wished he could go back. Back to before the war, back to when he wasn't Naruto-sama savior of the world, but just Naruto favorite mischief maker of Konoha.

His musings were interrupted by what sounded like a soft groan somewhere in the trees to his right. He tensed slightly before moving in the direction of the sound. After a few seconds of navigating through the trees he reached a small clearing. The breath caught in his throat at the sight in front of him.

Lying in the middle of the clearing, soaked in blood, was a woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties. From the way her clothes were torn and tattered Naruto could tell that she had been attacked and wounded at some point. He moved swiftly but cautiously to her side and bent to check for a pulse.

At the touch of his fingers on her neck the woman's eyes opened weakly. She seemed to react to his headband more than the fact that he was there at all. She groaned and looked over at something, straining to reach whatever it was.

It was then that Naruto noticed the basket laying next to the woman. He shook his head lightly and turned back to her, "Please hold on, I'll get you back to my village. You'll be okay."

"No," her voice was weak, "m-my baby." She gestured for the basket again. This time she managed to hook her bloody fingers on the edge and drag it towards her.

As the lip of the basket turned Naruto saw a bundle of pink blankets crowned by a small head. He cringed inwardly. "What happened?"

The woman's eyes softened as the baby came into view. "My husband and I were traveling home, it was a small village. When we arrived we found everything destroyed, everyone dead, and a group of bandits taking anything that was left. We tried to run but they caught up, my husband tried to fend them off while I fled with the baby."

Tears were in the woman's eyes and Naruto could see that she wasn't long for this world. "Is there anyone I should take your child to?" It was all he could offer.

She glanced at him with a sad smile, "No, she has no one. Please, I beg you, take her with you to your village."

Naruto felt his stomach turn. There were already too many orphans in this world, the war had seen to that. He was angry that there were people who chose to inflict this kind of pain and suffering on people. He reached down and took the woman's hand in his own.

"I promise you, on my word as a shinobi, she will be safe and happy. When the time comes she will know of the sacrifice her parents made."

The woman nodded, she was beginning to fade, "Her name is Nami." With a shuddering breath she went limp.

Naruto sighed, he'd seen more than his share of death in the war. He released the woman's hand and reached for the basket. The baby was sleeping soundly inside. After making sure she was okay he used a couple shadow clones to dig a hasty grave for the woman.

When he was done he picked up the baby basket and started to make his way back to the road. He was still a few hours travel from Konoha, but he wanted to get there as soon as possible. Looking down at his clothes he realized that we was now covered in the woman's blood, _Granny's gonna kill me for ruining my brand new flak jacket_.

For the rest of the walk home the baby remained surprisingly quiet. The one time she did wake up she seemed content to simply stare at Naruto in interest.

"Nami huh?" Naruto asked bringing the baby closer so he could smile at her, "I like it. I think you'll be a welcome addition to Konoha little one."

The girl gurgled softly and smiled a little.

Naruto looked up as the gates of Konoha finally came into view. In a few short minutes he walked through them and took a deep breath.

"Hey Naruto!" A cheery greeting came from the guard house off to one side of the large doors. Two men sat inside looking quite bored, both waving at him.

"Hey Kotetsu, Izumo. Busy day?"

"Not in the slightest." Izumo replied.

"Hokage-sama has been expecting you." Kotetsu stated simply.

"I'm on my way there now, you two have fun out here." He laughed before hopping onto a nearby roof and starting to run towards the building that housed the Hokage's office.

When he arrived he hopped lightly through an open window, "Morning Granny."

The tried looking woman behind the desk looked over at him. She looked to have been doing paper work all morning. He could see the boredom written all over her face, he had to suppress a grin.

"You're late, Naruto."

"I got held up," He gestured at his clothing and angled the basket to show Tsunade the baby inside.

She looked about to say something about his clothes when she saw the baby. Her face immediately softened and she came forward to pull the baby into her arms. She glanced over at Naruto.

"Since when are you a father?"

"I'm not." He blushed slightly and reached a hand up to scratch the back of his head.

Tsunade couldn't resist teasing him a little more, "Are you sure you and Hinata didn't..."

He stammered for a response and his face became beet red.

"Relax," she said chuckling softly, "now please explain what exactly happened."

He briefly told her everything that had happened. Tsunade listened carefully, only asking a question here or there. When he was done she walked over and handed him Nami. Naruto cradled the girl in his arms.

"Hmm, so what are we to do with the girl? We already have so many orphans from the war..." She trailed off with a sad look in her eyes.

"I'll take her," Naruto said, surprising himself and the older woman.

"You want to adopt a child?!" She looked a little amused, "If you had said that to me 3 years ago I would've smacked you."

"I made a promise to this girl's mother that I would see her safe and happy. I refuse for there to be another child abandoned to an orphanage." He looked down at the girl and smiled at her.

Tsunade leaned back in her chair thoughtful. She looked over the young man in front of her. She could hardly see the boy that had accompanied Jiraiya to find her a few years ago. After a couple minutes of thought she rose from her chair and went to one of the filing cabinets on the wall.

She searched through it and eventually pulled out a stack of papers, placing them on her desk.

"These are the adoption forms." She looked up at Naruto, "Keep in mind this isn't something you can just stop doing. This is a life-long commitment."

"Give me some credit Granny. When have I ever given up?" With a confident smiled he gently placed Nami in the basket and began filling out the forms.

When he was done Tsunade glanced over it, nodding to herself. She filed the papers away and moved to stand in front of Naruto.

"I think you'll make a great father Naruto," she said placing her hands on his shoulders. "But don't forget that you have many friends that will be more than happy to help you.


	2. The Check-Up

**Disclaimer: Forgot to say it the first time, I don't own Naruto.**

As Naruto was leaving Tsunade's office cradling Nami in one arm and holding her basket in the other hand he glanced at the two masked ANBU standing guard. He approached the man on the left, even with a mask on there was no way Naruto couldn't recognize him.

"Hey Teme, care to be the first to meet your new niece?" He shifted to let Nami see the man, "Nami-chan, this is your Uncle Sasuke."

The black haired Uchiha grunted and looked down at the baby, "Since when are you a father, Dobe?"

Naruto was about to explain when they were interrupted by the other guard. Both men turned to look at him, he looked stunned, at least as stunned as one can look while wearing a mask. The man turned to Naruto, who raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"How did you know who he was Uzumaki-sama? We aren't even told each others real names." He was looking quickly between the two men.

"Several reasons, the least of which being his aura of indifference." Naruto chuckled and turned back to his best friend, "I need to get Nami to the hospital for a quick check-up. I'll have to tell you more about her later. Stop by my place if you get a chance."

Sasuke nodded slightly, "Whatever." His eyes went back to the baby again and she gurgled at the attention.

Naruto laughed a little before turning and leaving the building. He took to the streets of Konoha and breathed in the smells he loved so much. It was spring time and the whole village smelled of flowers.

As he made his way towards the hospital he acknowledged the various people calling out to him with nods and waves. Ever since the end of the war he had started to notice that his new hero status put distance between him and the villagers. Instead of the fear he used to see in their eyes he now only saw respect, but it was almost as bad.

Naruto shook himself from his revery as he entered the Konoha Hospital. He looked around briefly before spotting a pink head of hair.

"Sakura!" He called out to his friend.

She turned to him and the smile she was wearing fell. She saw him covered in blood and rushed to his side, "Naruto! What happened?"

He was confused for a second before he looked down at himself, remembering he hadn't stopped by his apartment to change. He grinned at her.

"Nothing, Sakura. It's not my blood. I need a favor though."

"I'm not going on a date with you, or paying for your ramen." She said quickly.

"Neither of those things," he said with a laugh, "I need you to do a quick checkup on my daughter." He smiled to himself at the way saying 'my daughter' felt.

Sakura stared at him for what seemed like minutes, a stunned expression on her face.

"What do you mean daughter? Who's the mother? It's Hinata isn't it?" She started firing questions off.

"Stop. Stop, she's not mine by birth, I just finished the adoption with Granny. And why does everyone assume me and Hinata are together?" He shrugged, "Anyway, Sakura, I'd like you to meet Nami Uzumaki." He offered the baby in his arms to her.

She gasped not having noticed the baby before, she pulled the small bundle into her arms. The baby looked up at her disinterestedly and then back at her new father. Naruto smiled, he hadn't noticed how green the baby's eyes were before.

"Of course I can give this little cutie a check-up. Are you worried that she has something?" She started towards an empty room.

"Not really, I just figured I should have her examined so she can be on record and everything." He said following after her. "Hell, I don't even rightly know how old she is."

Sakura nodded absently, "So tell me how this happened, and why?"

Naruto started telling the story again when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye, a flash of dull blonde hair. Looking over he caught sight of another of their friends.

"Hey, Ino!" He called out to her.

She looked around until she saw him, "Naruto, what are you doing here?" She asked as she approached.

"Sakura is giving my daughter a check-up," He put a hand up to belay her questions, then gestured to the room their pink headed friend had just entered. "Just come meet her and I'll explain everything."

They both entered the room and Ino squealed in delight at the sight of Nami, immediately moving to help Sakura get the baby ready. Naruto quickly retold the events of the day, but he stopped when Nami began crying. He rushed to her side.

"What's wrong?" He asked his friends.

"She's just hungry, Ino can you go get a bottle?" Sakura replied calmly, still examining the baby.

The blonde girl nodded and rushed off. She was back in a matter of minutes, handing Naruto a bottle filled with milk. He bent and picked up Nami shushing her softly. He sat down in one of the room's chairs and began feeding her.

When he looked up he saw both women staring at him in awe. He raised an eyebrow in a silent question.

Sakura was the first to recover, "I didn't know you could be so...tender, Naruto."

Ino wasn't as polite, "When did your thick head learn to do that?"

Naruto shrugged, "I've always been good with kids, and I've been helping out at the orphanage whenever I got the chance." He looked down at Nami who was looking content having finished the bottle. Standing, he returned her to the table and gestured for the women to continue.

When the examination and his story were finished he bundled a sleeping Nami in her blanket and placed her back in her basket. He joined Sakura and Ino at the front desk where the two were filing Nami's new medical records.

"So, anything I need to know?" He asked them.

Sakura shook her head, "Not really, she's a healthy two month old baby girl."

"Two months, huh?" Naruto commented looking down at his new daughter.

"I still can't believe you're the first of us to have a kid, Naruto." Ino chipped in.

He chuckled, "Well I better not be the last, in a few years I expect to have lots of little nephews and nieces."

Sakura blushed slightly and punched Naruto in the arm, earning a wince from the blonde man.

"I have to go get supplies for Nami, and change out of these clothes, not necessarily in that order." He said and waved to the girls, picking up the baby basket and making for the door.

"If you need any help, just ask." Ino called as her and Sakura waved him off.


	3. The Shopping

Naruto nudged the door to his apartment open with his hip. Shuffling inside he kicked the door shut before slipping off his sandals. He made his way to the kitchen carefully setting a still sleeping Nami on the table, basket and all.

He stripped off the blood soaked flak vest and the top of the track suit he wore. Tossing them both in a corner and making a mental note to wash them later he checked on Nami one more time. Satisfied she would sleep soundly for a few more minutes Naruto decided on a quick shower.

He relieved himself of the last of his gear and clothing on the way to the bathroom. His shower wasn't the best thing ever, but it was efficient enough at getting the grime off. After a few minutes spent enjoying the feel of the water beating on his head he quickly cleaned the blood and dirt from himself.

As he was leaving the bathroom wrapped in a towel, he heard a gurgle coming from the kitchen. When he stepped over to Nami and looked down at her she was smiling and looking up at him. He smiled and went to dress hurriedly, just throwing on a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

Naruto got back to the kitchen before too long and reached in to pick his new daughter up.

"How about we go buy you some new stuff, little one?" He asked the girl, cradling her in his arms.

It didn't take them long to reach the shopping district. He wandered around a bit before realizing he had no idea what shops had what he needed. He had just resigned himself to checking every store when he heard a familiar voice behind him, soft but confident.

"Naruto-kun." He turned to find the midnight haired woman it belonged to standing a few feet behind him.

"Hinata! Am I glad to see you, I think I need some help." He raised the arm not holding Nami behind his head.

Hinata gasped a little at the baby in his arms, blushing furiously. Naruto grinned, he'd forgotten how cute that blush could be. She stepped forward her lavender eyes full of questions. He quickly explained the story, realizing he was going to have to repeat it for all of his friends.

"May I?" Hinata asked, gesturing to the baby.

"Of course," He said handing Nami to the Hyuuga heiress. He smiled a little when his daughter seemed genuinely interested in Hinata. "What I needed your help with was shopping for her. I have no idea where to go or what to get."

Hinata giggled a little, "Sure I'll help you. It shouldn't be hard at all."

They spent the next few hours meandering around, Hinata carrying Nami and pointing out to Naruto everything he needed. It wasn't long before he noticed that some people were giving them little knowing smiles, _Do we really seem like that much of a couple?_ He looked over to the heiress, she was cooing softly to Nami and rocking her back and forth, the baby entranced by her hair.

Shrugging, Naruto continued diligently grabbing what Hinata told him to. When they left the last store he was extremely grateful for the pay raise that came with being a Jonin. The sun was on it's last leg in the sky and he noticed he was pretty hungry.

"Hey Hinata, wanna grab some ramen? My treat." He gestured with his head towards Ichiraku Ramen, "The old man might have a heart attack when he sees Nami."

Hinata nodded and followed him towards the stall. Slipping inside Naruto was greeted warmly by the owner and his daughter.

"Naruto! Good to see you back, and not alone I see." The old man added as Hinata joined her friend.

"Good to be back, I really need some ramen. Also I'd like to introduce you to my daughter, Nami." He gently lifted the baby from the Hyuuga and held her up. A squeal came from the back of the stall as the man's own daughter, Ayame, came out to see the baby.

"Wow, Naruto, all grown up. And I assume you're the mother?" The owner asked turning to Hinata, who instantly flushed and began stammering.

Naruto chuckled a little, "Stop teasing her old man, Nami-chan is adopted. Although everyone seems to think Hinata is the mother. Let me ask you, do either of us have green eyes?" He shook his head, "Ayame, I'll trade you the baby, _temporarily_, for two bowls of miso."

"Shame on you, bartering with your child." The woman scolded, while still producing two of the fastest bowls of ramen in existence. Then plucking Nami from his arms. Naruto grinning like an idiot, broke his chop sticks and dug in.

"So Hinata," He started turning to his companion, "How have your students been?" Hinata was the only one of their friends who had decided to be an instructor Jonin. She had a team of her own already as the village was pretty low on shinobi.

"They keep asking me when you're going to come train with them. Plus they are getting pretty fed up with doing D rank missions."

"They had to retrieve Tora didn't they?" Referring to the infamous cat that Genin teams dreaded being sent to find. At her nod he laughed, "That's rough. If it's okay with you I can come by tomorrow during training."

Hinata thought for a moment, "That works. We have training ground 8 tomorrow morning, we'll be there at 9." She slurped up the last of her noodles.

"I'll be there. Hey Ayame, think I could have my daughter back?" He put the money for the ramen on the table and reached up to take Nami back, "Thanks for the food, it's as good as always." Picking up his bags and waving a farewell to Hinata he headed home for the night.

He had just made it inside when Nami started crying again. Naruto put her down on the table to check her diaper. He pulled back slightly from the smell, quickly cleaning her up and changing her. After he had held her to his chest and cooed softly to her for a while she yawned.

He wrapped her gently in her blanket and placed her gently on his bed. He changed out of his clothes quickly and slipped into bed next to her, careful to keep her as far from the edges of the bed as possible. He smiled softly as he looked down at her and drifted off to sleep.


	4. The Morning

Naruto awoke from dreams of midnight and lavender to the sound of crying. He groggily looked around trying to find the source, it didn't take him long to find her. Nami was in the middle of his bed, looking up at him with tear stained cheeks. Grunting from the exertion he rolled out of bed and picked her up, smiling when she buried her face in his chest.

"You're probably hungry huh?" Looking at the clock he was surprised to see that Nami had actually slept through the night, it was now 7 o'clock in the morning. "Not bad for your first night here baby girl, let's get you some breakfast."

Moving to the kitchen he placed her in her basket and started filling a bottle for her. As he placed it on a hotplate to warm up he heard a knock on his door. Kissing Nami gently on the forehead he went to see who it was. He opened the door and was greeted by a happy sounding bark.

"Oh, hey Kiba," he said extending a fist to bump knuckles with his friend, "Akamaru," he offered his fist to Kiba's nin-dog partner who tapped it with his nose. "I was just starting breakfast, come on in."

"Dude, why does your apartment smell like baby?" Kiba asked following Naruto towards the kitchen.

"That's a stupid question," as he entered the kitchen he gestured to the basket on the table, two green orbs watched them curiously. "This is Nami, my daughter." He was prevented saying more as Kiba's face suddenly filled his vision.

"Who's the mother? So help me, if you hurt Hinata I will kill you." He continued likewise for another minute or so, Naruto put a hand up when his friend stopped for breath.

"She's adopted, and you know I could never hurt any of you, least of all Hinata." He picked up the bottle from the hot plate and, satisfied that it was warm enough, sat down to feed Nami. "There should be food in the fridge, help yourself."

Kiba mumbled another couple of vague threats before grabbing an apple and sitting down across from Naruto. He watched in wonder as his wild and loud friend very carefully fed the girl. After a couple minutes Naruto looked up at him.

"So how was you're mission? I heard you had it pretty easy." The blonde man asked.

"Yeah, I was really just tagging along with a Chunin team to take out a bandit leader. Easy stuff, but something felt wrong." His eyes gazed blankly at a wall, "I don't know what it is, but something's going on out there in the world. Something's coming, Naruto. We expected a rise in bandit activity after the war, but this is different. There's a tension in the air, like the land itself is holding it's breath."

Naruto nodded solemnly, "I know what you mean, I felt edgy all the way back from Iwa. Granny thought that another power might step from the shadows now that all five major villages are weakened. She even thinks we could be in store for another war, albeit a smaller one."

The Inuzuka shook his head, "I've had my fill of war man. If it comes I'll do my job and fight, but I really hope it doesn't come to that."

The two men sat in silence, remembering the horrors of war, and silently praying it would never come to that. Naruto stood when Nami finished the bottle, placing her gently in her basket he went to wash it.

"Hey Kiba, let me ask you. Do me and Hinata really come across as a couple? Everyone's first assumption is that Nami is her's." He turned back to see his friend playing with one of his daughters small fists.

"Wait, are you not a couple?" Kiba asked looking a bit bewildered. "We all just assumed you were and were waiting for you to make it official."

"Why?"

"Think about it, you haven't asked Sakura on a date since the war ended. You spend a fair bit of your off time helping Hinata train her team. Even when you both have off you always seem to be together. To be honest I think Shino's jealous of her. I know Neji's death brought you two closer, but it just seemed like there was something more." Kiba shrugged and went back to playing with Nami.

Naruto watched him for a minute, thinking about everything that had happened after the war. It was true that he and Hinata had been spending a lot of time together, but that was just because they were mourning their friend...right? He was shaken from his thoughts when Kiba rose and stretched.

"Alright, I have to get going. I have a quick patrol mission to go on, thanks for the food." He waved as he made his way to the door, Akamaru following close behind.

"No problem, stay safe out there." He called after the two. Shortly after he heard the door close he spoke to the seemingly empty apartment, "You know you don't have to hide from our friends, right?"

Naruto didn't so much as bat an eyelash when a man in an ANBU mask materialized from the corner. The man shrugged and slid into Kiba's recently vacated chair.

"At least take the mask off, Teme, you're not that ugly." Naruto said simply. When his friend complied he pretended to flinch, "Whoa, maybe you are that ugly." He grinned at the slight up turn at the corners of Sasuke's mouth. "Do me a favor and watch Nami while I get ready."

The Uchiha nodded briefly and turned his attention to the baby. Allowing his features to soften a bit at the little giggling bundle. After a few minutes Naruto sidled back into the room shrugging on his newly cleaned flak vest.

"Dog-boy's right you know, Dobe." Sasuke said suddenly. Naruto almost tripped, his friend usually choosing to remain silent.

"What about?"

"Hinata. You two _are_ basically a couple now. You should at least talk to her about what your relationship is, and soon." The raven haired man said this with a deadpan expression.

"I think that's the most I've heard you say at one time since the war." Naruto thought for a moment, "You probably have a point though, I'd hate for there to be a misunderstanding and someone get hurt. By the way, you should really visit Sakura more, she keeps pestering me about you. She thinks that you are trying to pull away from our friends."

Sasuke shrugged, looking for all the world like he didn't care at all. He watched silently as Naruto picked Nami up and held her.

"Look, I know you were never close to the rest of the group, but you at least owe it to Sakura to drop by once in a while." The blonde man said, cradling his daughter to his chest.

"Fine," Sasuke rose and put his mask back on, "Also, Lady Hokage wants to see you sometime today, something about reassignment." He strode to a window and hopped out of it, vanishing without so much as a good-bye.

"Don't mind him Nami. He just has issues, lots of issues." Naruto chuckled and replaced her in her basket, "Now how about we go pay a visit to your Uncle Neji?"

**A/N: Sorry these chapters are covering such short time spans, the tempo will pick up soon, there's just some ground work I want to make sure I lay down in the first few weeks of the story.** **Thanks for the great reviews, glad to hear the story actually interests people.**


	5. The Sparring

"Hey Neji," Naruto said, lowering himself to the ground in front of the marble gravestone and placing Nami's basket next to him. "I know you're probably tired of seeing me here all the time, but this time is a special occasion."

He reached over and pulled Nami from the basket, sitting her on his lap so she was facing the stone. She craned her neck up trying to look at her father. He smiled down at her before returning his gaze to the picture of his old friend that was placed next to the grave.

"I'm a father now, this is Nami. Long story short I adopted her yesterday. I wish you were here man," Naruto could feel the tears stinging his eyes, "I'm so grateful to you, for my life and Hinata's. I hate that we weren't able to save you, I keep feeling that I should've been able to do something, ya know." He smiled slightly, but it didn't reach his eyes, "Hinata keeps telling me 'only a fool regrets the sacrifice of a friend'. Sounds like something you would say."

The tears were flowing freely down his face now, but he refused to break down. He would stay strong for Neji, to do otherwise would disgrace his friend's life. Naruto bounced Nami gently on his lap, she seemed to understand the seriousness of the moment.

"Hopefully Nami will be part of a generation that doesn't have to go through what we went through. Our alliance with the other villages is strong, and right now we all need each other more than ever. Even the stubborn old Tsuchikage has realized that peace is within our grasp." He reached up and wiped his face on his sleeve. Moving carefully, he replaced Nami in the basket and stood up.

Looking around him he took in the rows and rows of headstones. The final death toll from the Fourth Great Shinobi War had been well into the thousands, for each village. Konoha's graveyard had to be expanded when the bodies started coming home. Too many had died, too many were left behind, but they were shinobi. It's their job and their honor to die protecting their homes, comrades, and friends.

"Thank you," he said to the graveyard at large, "Thank you all for giving us the opportunity to live in peace. I swear, none of you will have died in vain." Taking a deep breath he bent to pick up Nami before heading off in the direction of the training grounds.

He reached training ground 8 and saw Hinata's team working on various things. Off to one side Hinata stood against a tree, watching intently. Naruto made his way over to her first, she looked up at his approach. As soon as they made eye contact she could tell where he had been, she could always tell.

Her lavender eyes, so full of concern and sympathy, held his blue ones for a long moment. She gave him a small reassuring smile and reached for Nami's basket. Their hands brushed ever so slightly when she took the handle from him, and she surprised him by not blushing. Before he could comment she gestured her head at the trainees.

Steeling himself from his visit to their old friend, he jogged out into the clearing, "Hey guys!"

"Naruto-sensei!" Three voices called back as the students made their way over to him.

"I never get tired of being called that." He chuckled softly.

"You're late," said the largest of the three. A boy with short, brown hair and dark blue eyes.

"Well Hibiki, I got lost on the path of life," Naruto replied, using the same bogus excuse Kakashi-sensei had used with him so many times. He could hear Hinata's giggle behind him, and he threw her a look.

"Sakiko thought you had finally died from eating too much ramen," said one of the team's two girls, pointing at the other. She had black hair that was tied back into two ponytails and dark brown eyes.

"I did not, Isaki," said the last member of the team, sticking her tongue out. Her straight blonde hair contrasted sharply with her onyx eyes.

"Are you gonna teach us some cool new jutsu, Sensei?" Hibiki asked, unable to keep the excitement from his voice.

"You know that's not up to me, besides I don't have anything cool to teach." Naruto shrugged, it was true he didn't rely on a wide range of jutsus like some other shinobis did.

"What about the Shadow Clone Jutsu? Or Rasengan?" Isaki asked.

"One is a forbidden Jonin level jutsu, and the other is a family secret." Naruto chuckled softly, "Besides you guys are still first year Genin, you don't need high power jutsu yet. How about we spar instead, you three against me in Sage Mode, I'll even blindfold myself."

All three reluctantly agreed and moved back a ways to prepare themselves. Naruto stood perfectly still for a moment, allowing the energy around him to gather and mix with his own chakra. After a minute or so of this he felt the familiar increase in power and ability that came from being a Sage. The only difference to an outside observer was a slight orange coloring around his eyes and horizontal slits for pupils.

"Remember," he started, turning his headband so his forehead protector was on the side of his head, "Come at me-"

"With intent to kill," the three Genin finished in unison.

Grinning broadly Naruto dropped his headband over his eyes and settled into a fighting stance, "Then begin whenever."

It was always strange when Naruto fought relying on the chakra sensing ability that came with Sage Mode. He couldn't "see" his opponents the way Hinata described her Byagukan as doing. He was simply _aware_, he simply knew where the chakra was. He'd been practicing like this for weeks and had gotten better at using chakra flow to predict an enemy's movements.

From her vantage point near the edge of the clearing Hinata watched as the four faced off. She adjusted Nami so that the girl was facing the fight, "You want to watch your Daddy fight?" The infant giggled and swung her arms playfully.

As if on cue all three younger ninja charged, moving to come at Naruto from three sides. The older shinobi shifted his weight to his back leg and tensed. When the first kick came at him from his left he ducked under it and pushed off from his back leg. He slipped through the gap between the other two and turned in time to catch Hibiki's wild punch.

Watching the fight progress Hinata could see how much Naruto had matured simply in his fighting style. He had always been the type to run in head first and try whatever came to mind. If it didn't work he charged in and tried something else. Ever since his training with Jiraiya though he had gained a fluidity and control that he lacked before. He didn't waste movement anymore and he was more tactical.

Hinata could see that Naruto was fighting defensively, allowing the students to practice their taijutsu and teamwork. At one point Isaki stabbed a kunai straight at Naruto's face, and in the blink of an eye he had reached up and tapped the girl's hand, forcing her to miss by no more than an inch. Any time one of the Genin left themselves open to an attack Naruto would simply tap them, opting not to attack them in favor of the lesson to be taught.

After what seemed like hours the three students were sprawled on the ground panting heavily. Naruto's breathing was slightly heavy, but he barely looked like he had been in a fight.

"Not bad, you've gotten better. Hinata's been teaching you well." Naruto reached up and repositioned his headband. "If you keep improving at this rate, you'll be Chunin in no time." He strolled over and joined Hinata sitting against a tree.

"They still have a ways to go," the heiress said looking over her students, "You had at least a dozen kill shots on all of them."

"Yeah, but they're young, and improving. Not to mention, I'm special. Sage Mode and Bijuu Mode give me a huge advantage." He shrugged lightly, "Against other shinobi of their age and rank they'd probably win. Any luck finding their specialties yet? Isaki seems to favor weaponry."

"Yes, I've already had her talk to Tenten and it seemed like Weapon Mastery is what fits her. The other two are still undecided. Hibiki's pretty strong at genjutsu, and Sakiko likes ninjutsu but doesn't know that many."

"Well, you're their sensei, but I'd say have Hibiki talk to a heavy genjutsu user like Kurenai-sensei. As for Sakiko you could probably just test their chakra natures and start having her learn ninjutsu from the scrolls or a user of her element."

"Speaking of ninjutsu, have you decided to learn some more wind style or are you just going to stick with what you have?" Hinata asked. Nami looked up from where she was playing with the grass and reached her arms out for her father.

Naruto scooped her into his arms and she clutched at his vest. "I've been talking to Temari whenever she's in town 'ambassadoring', which always seems to involve Shikamaru somehow." Hinata giggled.

The sister of the Kazekage and Sunagakure's ambassador to Konoha spent most of her time in the village being escorted by a certain extremely intelligent and extremely lazy shinobi. All of their friends agreed that it was just a matter of time before they got together.

"Even Gaara called this one, and he's horrible with relationships." Naruto joked, referring to his friend the Kazekage. After laughing for a few minutes, during which the three Genin went back to their other training, he regained his composure. "Anyway, I've talked with Temari and she offered to bring some wind style scrolls from Suna since I'm the only wind user in Konoha right now."

Hinata nodded, "That's good, your Bijuu and Sage Modes make it somewhat unnecessary but it's probably safe to learn a few more mid to long rang ninjutsu."

"You know Hinata, I like being able to talk to you like this. Time was you would faint if I even addressed you," Naruto turned to see the blush creeping across her face, he grinned widely. _What is our relationship?, _he asked himself. Looking up at the sky he decided to resolve the issue once and for all, "Hinata, you wanna come over to my place for dinner? I promise it won't be ramen."

The Hyuuga heiress turned an all new shade of red and stuttered for the first time in a while, "J-just m-me and y-you? A-alone?"

He grinned wider at her stutter, he liked that she could still seem so vulnerable and probably kick his ass in a straight fist fight. "Well, Nami will be there, but yes. Just you, me, dinner and an conversation that I've owed you for just about a year." He thought back to when Hinata had stepped in front of him during his fight with Pain, and shortly afterward confessed her feelings to him.

"I-I'd l-love to, N-Naruto-kun." She had to focus on her students to stop herself from bringing her fingers to her lips the way she used to. She had broken out of most of her shy habits, but sometimes she still had to make a concentrated effort. Spending time with Naruto was helping though, he wasn't afraid to be who he was and that made her more comfortable to be herself around him.

Naruto settled back against the tree, Nami already drifting off to sleep on his chest. He watched the three Genin that reminded him how far he and his friends had come in just a few years. Enjoying the companionable silence, he tried to decide what to make for dinner tonight.


	6. The Plea

After many taunts and tips from Naruto, Hinata's three students were done with their training for the day. They sat down in front of the two older ninja and talked about what they needed to work on. Naruto participated in the conversation for a while until he noticed the sun was high in the sky.

"I should probably get going," he announced to groans from the Genin, "I have to report to Grandma Tsunade, I think she's finally going to start giving me real missions again." He stood carefully, bending to place Nami in her basket.

"I hope not," Hinata started, "You have a daughter now, she'll need you to be around more than regular missions would allow."

Naruto stretched his arms above his head, "True, but I think the alternative is helping Granny with paperwork," he frowned. "Hey Hinata, if I do have to go on missions would it be too much for me to ask you to watch Nami? I don't want to burden you, it's just that you're the only one I'd trust with her. Sakura and Ino probably wouldn't give her back, Tenten's place is a like a fricken armory, and I don't plan on leaving my two month old alone with any of the guys for longer than 5 minutes at a time. Not to mention she seems to like you."

The Hyuuga giggled, "I'd love to watch her, father might need a little convincing though." She knew her father liked Naruto well enough, but he had never been a fan of babies. She shrugged, "I think he'd be fine with a hero's daughter though."

Naruto grinned his signature grin, "She is that. Thanks a bunch Hinata." He grasped the handle of Nami's basket, "I'll see you three twerps another time," he said fondly, ruffling the three Genin's hair one at a time. Being careful not to jostle Nami too much he started off toward the Hokage's office.

Slipping in through the office window a couple minutes later he called out, "Hey Granny."

The older blonde looked up from the stack of papers she had in front of her, "Naruto, I didn't think you'd come by until later."

"I was going to wait but I have plans tonight so I wanted to make sure I talked to you first." He placed Nami on a corner of the desk, sitting down in the open chair across from Tsunade. "So, what's this 'reassignment' you wanted to talk about."

The Hokage got a strange gleam in her eyes when Naruto said 'plans' but she put that aside for a moment. "I'm going to stop sending you on missions for the time being. Instead you'll be helping me with the day to day tasks around here. Mostly you'll be filling in for me in the mission room," she smiled a little when Naruto visibly deflated. "Don't worry, if any high profile missions come up I'll still have you in the rotation. For the time being anything under S class I won't be considering using you."

"Sounds fair enough, I guess." Naruto sat up in the chair again, "That gives me the chance to spend time raising Nami instead of leaving her with someone else all the time." He looked over at his daughter, she was still sound asleep.

Tsunade nodded, "That was partly my intention. I also want to make sure you're familiar with some of the more tedious jobs of a Hokage." She leaned forward conspiratorially, "Now tell me, what are these plans of yours?"

Naruto considered blowing her off, but she was the only motherly person in his life, "I invited Hinata over for dinner tonight."

"Well it's about ti-" Her celebration was cut short when the door to the office burst open and a short woman rushed in.

"Hokage-sama! Hokage-sama! Urgent message from Suna!" The woman stopped at the sight of Naruto sitting in the chair, looking to Tsunade as if wondering whether she should continue.

"Go on," The older woman said impatiently, "He'll find out even if I tell him to leave."

The short woman glanced nervously at Naruto once more before saying in a rushed voice, "They say they are under attack and are requesting immediate assistance, the letter bears the seal of the Kazekage."

"Any details?" The Hokage asked, flinching a bit as the blonde boy practically exploded out of his chair. She held her hand out to him, urging him to wait before doing anything rash.

"It just says an unknown force has amassed outside the entrance to the village and is demanding an immediate surrender." The woman looked positively scared of Naruto now.

"Granny, you gotta let me go. You know as well as I that it must be bad for Gaara to ask for help. I can get there in a few hours if I use Bijuu Mode." Naruto said, drawing Tsunade's attention to him.

"What about Nami?" She asked gesturing to the slumbering infant.

The blonde man glanced around her desk before snatching up a pen and paper. He hastily scrawled a note on the paper, folding it neatly in half when he had finished. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a key and handed both to Tsunade.

"Can you see that she gets safely to Hinata, as well as these? I'd do it myself but time is not on our side." He looked to her pleadingly.

"Fine, I'll send a couple squads to back you up as soon as I can."

Nodding, he bent to kiss Nami's forehead, "Daddy will be back soon baby, be good for Hinata." He turned and hopped onto the window sill. Reaching inside himself he tapped into the power of Kurama, the tailed beast sealed inside him and his friend.

She grabbed his arm before he could leap from her window, "Please come back safe, Naruto."

He grinned widely, his body becoming encased in an orange glow, "I always do." Without another word he launched himself out and began speeding towards the Village Hidden in the Sand.

Turning back to the woman Tsunade saw that she looked confused, "What's wrong?"

The younger woman looked nervously at her feet before answering, "It's just that it sounds like Suna needs an army."

The Hokage smiled, "That's why I just sent them one."

-Hinata-

Hinata knew something was wrong as soon as she laid eyes on the Hokage. It was the basket, _Why does Lady Tsunade have Nami? _She never got the chance to ask the question aloud as the older woman reached her quickly and held out a folded piece of paper.

The heiress wordlessly opened it, confused when she saw Naruto's scrawled writing inside. He had just left no more than an hour ago, why would he need to write a note much less have it hand delivered by the Hokage. She read it quickly, then read it again to verify what it said.

_Hinata,_

_I'm sorry to have to ask this of you so soon, but something came up. I have to go help Gaara. I hope you can forgive me, I was really looking forward to dinner tonight. I'll have to make it up to you some time. I hope I'm not presuming too much by just dropping Nami on you like this, I would've said something first but I really didn't have time. Most of Nami's stuff is still at my place, so I'm leaving you a key. Also feel free to stay the night there if you want. It's closer to the center of town than your place and it's actually clean for once. I shouldn't be gone all that long, probably a week tops. I owe you big time for this._

_Naruto_

Hinata calmly folded the letter up and slid it into her pocket, "How bad is it?" She asked the older woman who had patiently waited for her to finish reading.

Tsunade sighed, "We aren't sure, but for Suna to have to ask for help we can assume it's not good." She dug in her pocket a moment then handed Naruto's key to Hinata.

The Hyuuga clutched the key to her chest, "Did he go alone?" Her voice was almost inaudible, she knew Naruto could handle himself but that didn't prevent her from worrying.

The Hokage placed her hand on the younger woman's shoulder. "He's one of the strongest shinobi in the village, in time no doubt he will be _the_ strongest. With you and Nami here, nothing will stop him from coming home." She extended the other hand which was holding the baby's basket.

Hinata accepted it and nodded her thanks, "I know, but I'd rather be there with him." She shook her head slightly, "Thank you for delivering her, was there anything else?"

Tsunade shook her head, "I have my duties to return to, which reminds me I think it's about time your team received a C rank mission." She smiled and took her leave.

The heiress looked down at the baby in the basket she was holding, "Come on little one, let's go round up the kids."


	7. The Enemy

-Naruto-

By the time he made it to Sunagakure the sun was close to the horizon. After discretely scouting the column of people standing in a rough formation facing the canyon-like entrance to the village, Naruto made his way around the back side of the dunes encompassing Suna. He was raking the sands with his eyes trying to find the small indent Gaara had showed him when a voice called out to him.

"Oi! Naruto!" Whirling towards the sound he found it's owner standing a few feet to his right. He only recognized the man from the bandage wrapped puppet on his back.

"Kankuro! You scared the crap out of me." He approached the older brother of the Kazekage, "You changed your face paint again, I'm never going to be able to recognize you."

"Eh, I got tired of the old look. The tunnel is over here, Gaara figured you might need help finding it." Kankuro gestured over his shoulder to a spot a yard or so away.

"Yeah, well I didn't grow up surrounded by sand, it all looks the same to me." The two men made their way to the village's back entrance, "I wish I was here under better circumstances."

"We're just glad you're here at all, whoever these people are they are dead serious about us surrendering." Kankuro opened the hatch and they both dropped into the sandstone tunnel. "We think they must have something up their sleeve. It may be common knowledge that we took the largest number of losses in the war, but we still have Gaara."

"Any idea of numbers?" Naruto asked as they jogged down the tunnel, a light at the far end their destination.

"Only about 500, but we don't know anything about them. After dealing with the Akatsuki we didn't want to take any chances." They reached the door at the end of the tunnel and burst through. Kankuro lead Naruto towards the front gate, it wasn't long before the blonde recognized a figure standing on top of the wall.

"Gaara!" He called as they raced up the stairs to the young man at the top.

"Naruto, I was hoping you would be here soon." The red head extended his hand.

Naruto reached out and shook hands with him, "I said I'd be here when you needed me. There should be a couple more squads coming from Konoha, but top speed won't see them here until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest."

"We thought as much, unfortunately I don't think we have that long. Until about an hour ago the bulk of the enemy were positioned further back in a rough camp, it would seem they are making their move."

"And they've been calling for your surrender the whole time, talk about dedication." Naruto looked out over the men arrayed against them, "Where are these guys from?"

"Maybe we should go ask them that, me as the Kazekage and you as the voice of the other four villages."

Naruto nodded, at the end of the war it had been unanimously decided among the five Kages that he should be named an honorary member of all the villages. That way if a situation ever arose that needed the Alliance to have a singular voice he could speak on their behalf. He cringed inwardly at all the things he had had to learn about each of the villages: their customs, rites, rituals, and much more.

"Sounds like a plan, these guys already annoy me. I was supposed to be having dinner with Hinata right now." At Gaara's raised eyebrow Naruto waved his hand vacantly in the air, "We'll talk about it later. Let's get this over with, I have a daughter to get back to. I'll fill you in on that too, and no the two aren't related."

Gaara nodded and turned to Kankuro, "If anything should happen to us you are in charge until the new Kazekage is chosen." Turning back to his blonde friend he gestured to the stairs, "After you."

The two descended the stairs and passed through the entrance to the village. They walked out until they were standing a dozen or so yards from a man standing in front of the others. After looking the two over for several seconds he inclined his head slightly.

"Kazekage, I assume you are here to accept our terms for surrender?" He asked in a raspy voice. Naruto realized that all of the men in the formation were wearing the exact same uniform. Long, loose black pants, a matching top, and cloth coverings on their head that hid all but their eyes.

Gaara crossed his arms over his chest, "Sand shinobi do not give in to threats, we came to see what exactly you are doing here." He nodded in Naruto's direction, "This is Naruto Uzumaki, he speaks for the villages in the Alliance, including mine. Anything that needs to be said to the Alliance can be said to him."

"There is no more need for words," the man said, "We will kill you, and then take your village for our own." He turned and barked something at his men, all of them pulled out kunai and began charging.

Naruto looked over to Gaara, "They know this is suicide right? Whatever, I'm going to enjoy it anyway." He slipped into Bijuu Mode again, the orange cloak of chakra billowing out behind him.

"This doesn't make much sense," Gaara agreed, the sand around him shifting slightly as if eager for battle.

Before the front line of the enemy even reached them the two men had been flanked by a hundred sand shinobi. As the two lines met the clanging of kunai and the roars of battle cries could be heard. Naruto met the first man to come at him with a Rasengan dead center to the chest. The man was blown 50 feet back, Naruto was turning to find a new opponent when the man stood up again.

"What the hell!?" Naruto exclaimed, a Bijuu Rasengan was enough to knock any Jonin on his ass. Most weren't able to get back up from the pain, but this guy hopped up like it was nothing.

Looking around Naruto saw his allies seeming as bewildered as he was, attacks and wounds that would keep most people down were nothing to these people. Using his chakra arms to slam Rasengans into four more enemies and blow them back, Naruto glanced to his right. Gaara was standing on a raised mound as the sand danced around him. It was blocking and attacking any enemy that got near it.

"Something's wrong." Naruto yelled over to his friend.

"I agree, I don't think they can feel pain. Nor do I believe they are able to use ninjutsu, they just continue to throw themselves at us." The sand shinobi responded. "We need to make sure to deal killing blows."

Naruto nodded and spun up two Rasenshurikens while dodging around an enemy. When they were ready he arced them into the bulk of the enemy watching as several of them fell, never to rise again.

The battle raged on for what felt like hours, both sides suffering casualties. As the last of the enemies fell the sense of unease only increased.

"What the hell!?" Naruto repeated his earlier exclamation as one of the bodies near him began to disintegrate.

Gaara bent down to examine the body, "They weren't clones, and this doesn't look like the Edo Tensei."

"So why are they disappearing?" The blonde looked around at all the bodies that were slowly vanishing. "This doesn't feel right Gaara. What are we missing?"

His friend rose from his position, "I don't know, but for now let's get the wounded taken care of. We'll see if the archives have anything like this."

Naruto helped the uninjured shinobi carry their wounded comrades back to the village. Kankuro met them just inside the entrance.

"What happened out there, Gaara?" He asked his brother.

"We aren't sure, call a meeting of the Jonin council. We'll discuss this more then." As his brother went to comply the Kazekage turned to a nearby uninjured shinobi, "Go send messages to the other villages telling them that the threat has been dealt with. Also in the message to Konoha ask permission to keep the inbound shinobi reinforcements for a few days."

Naruto stepped in briefly, "Also please inform Lady Hokage that I'll be staying until the reinforcements return." Gaara nodded to the sand shinobi, confirming Naruto's addition to the message.

"Let's hope this meeting can shed some light on this mystery." Gaara beckoned Naruto to follow him, and the two made their way to the large domed building in the center of the village.

-Hinata-

Hinata spent the remainder of her day supervising the missions of her students. It turns out that the C rank mission Tsunade had promised them had already been taken, so instead it was another day of D rank missions around the village. The heiress felt sympathy for the Genin, her team wasn't assigned a C rank mission for a long time either.

She merely giggled as they went about all their tasks with slow movements, complaining all the while. When they had finally finished all of their jobs Hinata dismissed them for the day, reminding them to be ready for training in the morning. After walking around a little to gather her courage she made her way to Naruto's apartment.

She'd been in his house before, on more than one occasion. This would be the first time she had ever gone in alone though. As she unlocked the door she took a deep, calming breath and pushed it open. Nami chose that moment to begin crying.

Hinata moved into the kitchen and put the baby basket on the table, "What's wrong Nami? I bet you're hungry," she hadn't cried for food all day. "You definitely don't have your father's appetite, but that's probably a good thing."

When Nami heard the word 'father' her crying diminished somewhat. Hinata looked back at the baby while she was preparing a bottle.

"Oh I see, you miss Daddy, don't you?" The little girl sniffled, "Aw, I know, I miss him too, but he'll be home soon. I'll be right here with you until then, okay?" Hinata picked Nami up and cradled her against her chest. She walked around the apartment rocking gently. She stopped when she reached a wall that was covered in pictures.

Hinata recognized a lot of them. There was the time they had all gotten together to celebrate Naruto's birthday a few years ago. Next to that was the day they had all been promoted to Jonin, none of them had been extremely happy, Neji was gone and Shikamaru had still been too weak to stand.

A little ways from the rest of the photos was one that Hinata had a twin of in her room. During the multitude of celebrations that had happened after the war ended, neither her or Naruto were keen on partying. This resulted in the two of them spending a lot of time just sitting together and talking. One of those times Sakura had sneaked up behind them and snapped a photo.

The two of them were sitting shoulder to shoulder, silhouetted against the setting sun. Below them the whole of Konoha was spread out. They didn't even know Sakura had taken the picture until she gave them copies a few days later. Smiling at the memory Hinata went back to the kitchen to feed Nami.

When she was just about done there was a knock at the door. She answered the door and was surprised to find Lady Tsunade standing outside.

"Good evening Hokage-sama," Hinata answered, blushing slightly.

"Good evening, I just thought you would like to know that word has come in from Suna. The threat has been handled and Naruto is fine. He has requested to remain a couple more days though, apparently something strange happened with the enemy."

"Thank you," Hinata sighed in relief, "I know he can survive most anything, but..." she shuddered slightly.

Tsunade smiled softly, "What did Naruto ever do to deserve your affection? You are far too good for that knucklehead. I hope he realizes how lucky he is."

Hinata blushed furiously, "H-he always b-believed in me. E-even when I d-didn't."

The older woman nodded, "That sounds like Naruto, complete faith in the people around him. Well I'll leave you two be now," She reached out and stroked Nami's cheek before turning to go.

Hinata closed the door silently, turning back to the empty apartment. Everywhere she looked she could see Naruto, she felt at ease here the same way she did when she was with him. She decided that it wouldn't hurt if she stayed one night here, it would probably be easier for Nami anyway.

**A/N: Wow, that was a hard chapter to write. I took like 5 tries to get the meeting with the enemy done. Anyway, once I wrap up Naruto's time in Suna the story's time line will pick up speed for a bit, things need to stew. I won't be skipping years or anything, but expect weeks maybe even months to slip by.**


	8. The Meeting

-Naruto-

Naruto could feel his eyelids drooping. He had been sitting in the cavernous meeting room for hours now. After the attack yesterday the Sand Village's Jonin council had convened to discuss it. They spent hours going back and forth about possible explanations and defense plans. Eventually they had to disperse for the night, but the meeting picked up again first thing in the morning.

He tried to participate at first, offering his opinions and thoughts, but after a time he felt unnecessary. The council spent all day discussing the smallest details of their defense plans and the search for information. It was now well after noon and Naruto was bored out of his mind. When the door to the room swung open he looked up hopefully. Framed in the doorway was a familiar blonde kunoichi with a large fan strapped to her back.

"Temari." Kankuro greeted his older sister simply. She nodded to him before turning to their younger brother.

"Gaara, I came back with the Leaf shinobi as soon as Lady Hokage told me what happened. They are down in the lobby." She walked around the table while she spoke, stopping by Naruto's chair.

"If you don't mind Gaara, I'll go give them their new orders." Naruto offered, beginning to stand. "Besides, at this point I think Temari would be of more use here."

At a nod from the young Kazekage he made his way to the door. He closed it behind him as the meeting resumed, releasing a sigh of relief. Glad to be away from that boring room, he made his way down to the lobby. Naruto recognized the group of shinobi huddled off to one side as soon as he entered. The old lady had sent Teams Guy and Ebisu as his back-up.

"Hey guys," he called as he approached. The seven ninja turned to him, all of them looking like they were about to speak. Raising a hand to forestall the greetings he mentally switched into leader mode, "Before the pleasantries let me update you on the situation. The attack you were originally sent here to help with has already been dealt with. However due to the strange nature of said attack, the Kazekage has asked to keep us on hand for the time being."

The two teams of shinobi seemed puzzled by this. Naruto quickly ran through everything that had happened, explaining that there were no clues to be found in the Suna archives.

"Gaara has asked the other villages to do some digging too, but no luck so far. Any questions?" When they all shook their heads Naruto grinned, "Good. I'm glad Granny sent familiar faces, I don't like having to boss around people I don't know all that well."

"Naruto-sa-" the tall man with sunglasses standing in the back of the group started.

"Ebisu," Naruto said, "We've talked about this, drop the honorific. I appreciate the respect, but it's unnecessary." The older man simply nodded his acknowledgment.

"Naruto-niisan," said the young boy standing in front of Ebisu, "I was looking forward to fighting some bad guys."

The blonde man raised his arms over his head, "Well Konohamaru, you guys were just too slow." He regretted the statement instantly.

"Then we must train to be faster!" A tall man in green tights exclaimed, "Lee, 500 laps around the village."

The young man next to him in matching tights looked up at his mentor, "Yes sir!" The two sprinted out of the building before anyone could stop them. The remaining member of their team smacked her palm to her face.

"Sorry Tenten." Naruto said to her, "I wasn't thinking when I said that."

"It's okay," she waved a hand absently. She stopped and looked back at Naruto with a gleam in her eyes, "I almost forgot. Is it true?! You have a daughter now?!" She looked like she might explode with giddiness.

Naruto chuckled, "Yeah, I suppose Sakura and Ino told you?" At her nod he continued, "I'll make sure to let you all meet her. I would've done it sooner but I thought Team Guy was on a mission."

The girl adjusted the scroll she had on her back, "We were, we had only just arrived back when Lady Hokage asked us to reinforce you." She gestured at the other four ninja, "She also thought it would be a good time for some of our newest Chunin to get a B rank mission."

"This is only B rank?" Naruto asked curiously.

Ebisu stepped in, "Your mission was considered S rank, but with you already here and the time it would take us to arrive ours was lowered to B."

"That seems a bit cheap, but I guess if it had been any higher then I wouldn't have gotten to see my first students in action." He grinned at the three youngest shinobi present, "I didn't get to tell you all earlier but you three did great at the Chunin exams."

"We were awesome, huh Boss?" Konohamaru exclaimed striking a pose.

The girl next to him punched him in the back of the head, "Almost all of the entrants made Chunin."

"Moegi, that hurts," he whined clutching his head. "We were still some of the best though, Udon almost made it to the finals."

The final member of their team sniffed and looked at the other two, "Yeah but you actually won, Konohamaru."

Naruto chuckled at their antics, "Come on, I'll show you guys to the guest quarters Gaara had set up. We'll be using them until its time to go home. Their not luxurious, but it's better than sleeping in the sand."

-Hinata-

When she woke up she was disoriented at first. She didn't recognize her surroundings, and what was that crying sound. It only took her a moment to remember that she had stayed the night at Naruto's apartment to watch Nami. The thought of having slept in his bed made her face flush.

Hinata quickly changed and fed Nami, making sure the infant was ready for the day. She decided that she was going to have to stop by her house at some point in the day to pick some of her things up. A noise from one of the windows drew her attention. As soon as she saw movement she placed herself between Nami and the intruder, drawing a kunai in the same motion.

"No need for that Hinata," came a calm and slightly muffled voice. A figure strode into the light and Hinata breathed a sigh of relief.

"Kakashi-sensei," She said, stowing her kunai and turning back to packing Nami's basket. "I wasn't expecting anybody this morning."

"I figured it was time for me to verify the rumors of Naruto having a baby." He moved over to the table and inspected the baby, he smiled at her. The only sign of this was a crinkling of the skin around his uncovered eye. "Imagine my surprise finding that they were true."

"I'm sure Naruto would have told you sooner but he had to go on a mission," Hinata offered.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade explained it to me. She also mentioned you being here with the baby, very kind of you." Hinata merely nodded, "I know that Naruto seems like he is unaware of your feelings."

Hinata turned her head to him quickly, her face rapidly regaining its blush. "W-what do you m-mean, Sensei?"

"Naruto was raised without the benefit of seeing the love between two people. He only just recently met his mother and had a chance to talk about it." The masked man shrugged slightly, his eyes still on the baby, "I know that for the last few months he's been trying to better understand his own feelings. I'm not saying that I know how he feels, but I am saying that talking to him might help."

Hinata was dumbfounded. She knew that Naruto saw Kakashi as an older brother/father figure, but she hadn't realized how invested the older man was in his student. Before she had a chance to question him Kakashi was already on his way to the window.

"Thank you for letting me see her, I'm here to help if you need anything." He smiled to the heiress and was gone.

After Kakashi had left Hinata finished packing and left to meet her students. The day passed like any other. Her Genin trained for a few hours before starting on a list of small D rank missions. When they had finished everything the sun had begun it's descent. Dismissing them for the day, the Hyuuga decided it was time to face her family.

She was expecting to be scolded by her father for staying out all night and be questioned relentlessly about Nami. Saying she was surprised by her father's reaction would be an understatement.

"Good evening, Hinata," he said calmly when she entered the house. "Is this the new Uzumaki I've heard about?"

"Yes father," she responded, instinctively turning to shield the infant. "I apologize for not returning last night, I felt she would be more comfortable in Naruto's apartment."

"Not necessary, I trust you." He said this like it was common knowledge, but it was the first time he had ever said it.

"T-Thank you father," Hinata had to force herself past her amazement.

"Will you be joining us for dinner before returning to Naruto's? I assume you intend to spend the night there again."

"I do, and I had hoped to eat dinner here." She began to let herself relax, her father had been warmer to her since the war and she was glad for it. Naruto's trust in her and her own growing confidence had proven to Hiashi Hyuuga that his eldest daughter wasn't weak like he had assumed. For the past few months he seemed to be trying to make up for all the years he treated her like she was barely a Hyuuga.

Following her father to the dining area Hinata was surprised to find her sister, Hanabi, already at the table seemingly waiting for them. When they entered the younger sister looked up from her plate.

"Hi Hinata-nee," she said ashamedly. She had been acting like this since Hinata had come home from the war. It was as if she blamed herself for everything their father had said and done to Hinata over the years.

Hinata smiled warmly at her, "Hello, how are you today?"

Hanabi looked surprised that her sister wasn't upset with her, "I'm fine, thank you."

As she took her seat, lifting Nami from her basket to hold on her lap, she looked at the other two Hyuugas. "I have already forgiven the both of you for what has happened in the past. In a way I'm thankful, with all the pressure I felt from you and Naruto's example I was able to find the strength needed to get better. The past is the past, I would hope we can move forward from now and be a family like we were before mother died."

Both of her dinner companions sat in silence for a moment before nodding. The three of them began to eat and after a while they started to talk. They didn't talk about formalities and business like they used to. Instead Hinata told them the story of how Nami had been adopted, and they made random small talk about anything that came to mind. It was the first time that Hinata felt like she was actually part of a functional family.

**A/N: Okay, from here on expect time to start skipping. Not a whole lot mind you, just a few days at a time maybe a week. The pace will definitely pick up. I know some of you were probably expecting a big reaction from Hiashi but I felt like this was a little more in character, at least where I think his character would be post-war. He seems more the type to already be aware of everything, and he would of course noticed if Hinata had been pregnant so having him assume his daughter had an illegitimate child didn't make much sense to me.**


	9. The Return

-Naruto-

Naruto and the other Leaf ninja spent the better part of a week in Sunagakure. Most days Naruto spent a handful of hours in meetings as the immediate representative for the other four villages. He was expected to insure their customs and interests were taken into account while discussing how to deal with this strange new threat. After the tedious meetings he was glad to be able to spar with Konohamaru or learn wind style jutsu from Temari.

When the time finally came to head home Naruto couldn't help but feel relieved. He counted Gaara among his closest friends and loved having the chance to spend time with him, but he was eager to get back to his new family. The eight Konoha shinobi set out for home early on the sixth day of their mission. If they moved at a steady pace they would arrive a few hours after dark.

They traveled in silence for a little while, but it didn't take long for them to need a distraction from the monotony of travel. Naruto only halfheartedly participated in their conversations, choosing to just let the others talk around him. He used to feel like he had to be the center of attention, but lately he found peace in allowing others to treat him like just another person.

"Hey, Naruto. Do you think your apartment is really suited for raising a child?" Tenten's question caught him off-guard.

"What? Where's that coming from?" He asked, trying to recover from the wild step he had taken.

"Well...I mean, I've seen your place. It's only got the two rooms, it won't be long until Nami will need a room of her own and if..." Her voice trailed off in a mumble but Naruto thought he heard Hinata's name in there somewhere.

He thought about it for a second. She did have a point, his place was pretty small and a growing child needs space. With his pay raise he could more than afford to get a new place. He was interrupted from his dreams of mansions and castles as Lee joined the conversation.

"Didn't you say something about your father's property a while ago?" He asked Naruto.

"You're right Bushy Brows, I'd almost forgotten about it. With everything going on I haven't really had time to take care of all of that. To be honest I'm not sure if I'm ready to face it."

After the end of the war Grandma Tsunade had told Naruto that the village had stored and maintained his inheritance. It had been decided after his birth that his parentage should be kept a secret for his safety. Now that it was no longer an issue he was able to claim everything his parents had left behind, including the house they lived in.

"You know any of us in the gang would be more than happy to lend a hand." Tenten offered.

"Indeed, you have helped all of us out before. It would be only fair." Lee added.

Tenten perked up suddenly, "You know, by the time we get back most of the others should be home too. We could make a day of it, I'm sure it would be good for all of us to hang out. It's been a while since the 11 of us got together."

Naruto nodded, their promotions to Jonin and reassignments had kept most of his friends busy. After the war he and his friends had started being called the Konoha 12, Neji being included in the group. They had been close ever since the attack on the village during their first Chunin exams. Most people considered them the future of the Leaf.

"That sounds like it could be fun, and I'll definitely need the help. Apparently my parents were pretty well off, but their stuff has been sitting around for 16 years. Who knows what will still be useful?" By this time the sun had long since set and Konoha was coming into view, "We can set up a date tomorrow, I'll even try to get the Teme to help out."

As they passed into the village the eldest two members of the group spoke up.

"You six go on home, we'll go the Hokage's office and leave a report on her desk." Ebisu turned to leave without another word.

"Yes, go enjoy the springtime of your youth!" Guy shouted enthusiastically, Tenten bowed her head in shame.

Naruto said his good-byes and jogged off in the direction of his apartment. A few minutes later he was slipping quietly through his door, being as silent as possible in case Hinata was there. He sneaked through the kitchen to his bedroom and peeked in. Laying on the bed was Hinata with a small bundle secure under one of her hands.

Smiling he approached the bed, carefully removing his vest as he went. Nami was sleeping peacefully, her breathing deep and regular. He bent to kiss her gently on the forehead. As he turned to prepare himself for bed he stopped and looked back at Hinata. Her hair was draped across her face and moved in rhythm with her breathing. Reaching out he brushed the midnight locks back and, after a moment's hesitation, placed a featherlight kiss on her forehead too.

Smiling to himself he started to get ready for bed. He grabbed the only spare blanket he had and moved to his new couch. Kiba had practically forced him to get it, saying that if Naruto expected to have his friends over they had to sit somewhere. Stretching out on the surprisingly plush cushions Naruto closed his eyes. As he started to drift off he silently resolved to tell Hinata everything that Gaara had helped him work out a few days ago.

When he woke the next morning the smell of bacon permeated the air. He sat up and looked towards the kitchen, Hinata was standing next to the stove and cooking something on it. Naruto threw the blanket aside and moved to stand next to her. She was making scrambled eggs and bacon, Nami sat in her basket on the table.

"You are a godsend Hinata. Although I should really be making you breakfast." He picked Nami up and hugged her gently, "Hey baby girl, were you good while Daddy was gone?" She made what sounded like an affirmative grunt.

"She was great, I had no problems at all." Hinata said, watching the two with a soft smile.

Naruto played with Nami until Hinata finished the food. When he went to put the infant down she started crying and clutching at his shirt. Chuckling he relented and sat at the table with her cradled in one arm. The heiress placed a plate of eggs in front of him and then sat down with her own.

He was about to dig in when he stopped and put his fork down, "Hinata, can we talk? Well really do you mind if I talk? I have something that I really need to tell you." She looked puzzled but nodded, "Okay. So while I was in Suna I did a lot of thinking, Gaara helped me out a little bit but he's almost as bad as I am with this stuff.

"I came to a couple different conclusions, the first and foremost being that I am an idiot. Plain and simple. The second needs a bit of back story before I can say it and have you know I'm telling the truth. When we were kids I didn't have parents or siblings or even role models to teach me the inner workings of the heart."

As he talked he had trouble looking straight at Hinata and he could feel his face warming. Looking at her briefly he could see she was beginning to blush too.

"Anyway," he continued, "as time went on I never really thought about this 'love' thing I heard the grown-ups talk about. Once we got into the academy though I started to develop a crush on Sakura. You remember, I would constantly ask her out or try to be near her. Typical kid stuff. Then when we were assigned teams and I was with Sakura things changed.

As I spent more time with her my feelings became something different. I cared more about what happened to her than just wanting to be with her. I had convinced myself that my little crush was more than that and I thought that the change in my feelings was this 'love' I had heard about." He paused to take a drink of the water Hinata had given him.

"When you started opening up to me more I felt something else. I was proud of you and happy for you, but there was something I couldn't pinpoint. With Sakura I wanted her to be happy in life, but I wanted you to be the best you could. I wanted you to succeed at everything you did. When Sakura messed up or got hurt it seemed like it was bound to happen, I didn't like it but it wasn't a huge deal.

Seeing you get hurt, by Neji and later by Pain made me so angry. After Pain hurt you I went from not being in Bijuu Mode to 6-tailed in an instant, I went berserk. Once my father helped me reseal Kurama and I felt you were still alive I was so happy. I thought you were gone and a world without you seemed...impossible."

He finally gathered enough courage to look her in the eyes, locking his blue to her lavender. He could see that she was on the brink of tears, but he pressed on.

Taking a deep breath he reached the conclusion of his rant, "I am an idiot because I couldn't even identify my own emotions. I was confusing my childhood crush with the brotherly love I have for Sakura. You were always there for me, and I always want to be there for you. Hinata...I love you."

For the first time in almost a year, Hinata Hyuuga fainted. Naruto couldn't help the grin that split his face.

**A/N: So I hadn't originally meant to get to the confession this soon, but once I started going it felt pretty natural for the progression. I don't know, it might make some of the later stuff even better. We'll just have to wait and see.**


	10. The Kiss

**A/N: Okay I figured I should address some of the things you reviewers brought up before I forget.**

**TheMagicManWithThePlan: That particular plot hole was actually intentional. During the war people recognized the 12 as being a cohesive group, afterward most of the referring to them was in the past tense. Also the remaining members choose to bear the name in honor of Neji, with the belief that he is with them even in death.**

**Dire Doodle: When I was trying to find a name for the baby I wanted something short and that had a bit of a ring to it. After I picked out a couple names I looked around to see if they had any meaning. Nami was the only one that had anything reasonable, and it was already at the top of my list. I don't know if it will have any bearing on the story, but I have a few ideas as to how it might.**

**WesDunne: I think one of the reasons I can be a tad jumpy/choppy is that I don't really have much of this planned out. In actuality it might be fair to call this a freewrite, at least on a chapter to chapter basis. I just sorta start with a vague idea and let it develop as I write. That's also the reason that somethings are happening out of step with how I thought they were going to. I appreciate the criticism though and I'll try to be more wary of it, no promises but I'll see what I can do.**

**I think that about covers the only really addressable things. Thanks to all of you for your feedback and support. Now, back to the story.**

-Naruto-

Naruto took a deep breath to steady himself. It was finally time, he was about to unlock a window into the past and a door to his future. He put the key Granny Tsunade had given him into the lock.

"Will you hurry up Naruto, I'm bored." Kiba piped up from the back of the group assembled behind Naruto.

"This is such a drag, why am I even here?" Shikamaru asked from next to Ino.

"Same reason I am, free food." Choji answered his team-mate.

"Guys, this is a big moment for Naruto. Give him a break." Sakura scolded them, cradling Nami. She had wasted no time in snatching the infant from Naruto.

The blonde man at the door sighed and unceremoniously threw it open. As a group the nine shinobi and one nin-dog made their way inside. Before they had a chance to take in their surroundings everyone but Naruto tensed, several drawing kunai or preparing to attack.

"It's alright," he said and gestured for them to lower their weapons. Moving further into the house he casually called, "You better not be wearing that damn mask in my house, Teme."

A shadow detached itself from the far wall, flicking a light switch as it drew nearer. In the suddenly lit room the gathered ninja were surprised to see Sasuke calmly removing his mask.

"That's better," Naruto said. "This is a mask free zone, alright?"

"Whatever, Dobe." The Uchiha placed his mask on a table in the middle of the large room they were in.

"I didn't realize the traitor was gonna be here," Kiba said, distaste evident in his voice.

Naruto rounded on him, "I suggest you not call him that in my presence. He made his mistake and he is still serving his punishment for it. Need I remind you that he was at the final battle like the rest of us, he fought same as us. Now drop it."

Sasuke merely grunted and sat in one of the chairs arrayed around the table. The tension in the room was almost palpable, until Nami began crying and flailing her arms at Naruto. The blonde man visibly softened and scooped his daughter from Sakura's arms.

Ten pairs of eyes watched as he cooed softly to her, her crying receding almost immediately. "There now, what's the matter? I know Auntie Sakura can be scary, but she only hits you if you piss her off." He explained to the infant, his tone bringing a giggle to her lips. With that small sound all tension left in the room evaporated.

The friends quickly set to work on the task they had come here to perform. Splitting up into groups they began to systematically clean and sort through the house. They found a lot of cool stuff; almost a hundred of the special kunai that the Fourth Hokage had used, several scrolls depicting various jutsu, and a sizable collection of books. Naruto's favorite discovery by far was the scrapbook that Sakura brought him an hour into the job.

It was full of pictures of his parents. Under each one in tiny scrawl, that bore a resemblance to his own, his mother had written what each photo was. He had to fight back the tears when he saw the last one. It had been taking just days before his birth. His parents looked so happy, they had no idea they would be dead shortly afterward.

At some point Kakashi showed up and assigned himself as baby watcher. Naruto sat down next to him on the dusty couch in the living room.

"Hinata told me that you looked in on her while she was watching Nami. I wanted to say thanks, I'm glad that she had some help if she needed it." He watched as the older man played with the girl.

"I left a friend's child abandoned once, I won't do it again."

"Kakashi-sensei, I already told you I don't blame you. There was nothing you could've done. You were younger than we are now and officially Minato Namikaze's son never existed." Naruto placed a hand on his mentor's shoulder, "You have done more for me than most people will ever get the chance to do. I am grateful to you, without your guidance I would probably have died long ago."

They locked eyes for a few seconds before the older man nodded and looked back to the baby in his arms. "Speaking of Hinata, where is she?" He asked.

"She should be here any minute, she went to grab the food." As if on cue there was a knock at the door. "Someone get that please," Naruto called out.

Shikamaru opened the door and a slightly winded Hinata stumbled in, arms laden with bags of food. She placed them on the table and looked around. When her eyes met with Naruto's she strode over to him briskly. In one fluid motion she captured his lips with her own, the kiss didn't last long though. The gathered shinobi were stunned.

"Wait. What?!" Kiba shouted at last.

Naruto grinned his signature grin and stood next to Hinata, "Do you want to say it? Or shall I?" He asked her.

She answered by entwining her hand in his and squeezing softly. Then turning to their friends she said, "We are...together now." She beamed and it was the happiest any of them had seen her look.

"When did this happen?" Ino asked.

"Few days ago," Naruto shrugged. "I admit, it took me a while to figure out what I was feeling. But I got there eventually."

"Details." An all too giddy Tenten demanded.

At a nod from Hinata he relayed his confession to them. "Once she came around we just kinda talked about where to go from there. Neither of us are experienced in this department so we figured we would wing it, ya know. I had asked if we were going to tell anyone yet, but I guess I just got my answer."

"Her father may not be pleased." Shino stated from a corner.

"Dude, I forgot you were even here." Kiba said, jumping slightly at his friend's appearance.

"I already talked to him the other day. As long as I respect her I have his permission. I intended to do that from the start, but now there's a threat backing it up so..." Naruto responded to the bug ninja.

"Took you long enough." Sasuke said from his chair, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Let's celebrate!" Choji called to various forms of agreement. It didn't take long to set the table, thankfully there had been extra chairs in one of the bedrooms.

They spent the rest of the day eating and hanging out. All of their worries and troubles were put aside. Nami was passed around and everyone got a chance to spend some time with her. By the time she got back to Naruto she was yawning widely. Excusing himself from the festivities briefly, he placed her in her basket. When he got back it was time for everyone to take their leave.

After all the 'good-byes' and 'laters' Naruto and Hinata were the only ones left in the house. She helped him clean up what dishes there were and store what was left of the food. As he was walking her to the door he had a thought.

"Hey Hinata," he unconsciously reached a hand up to scratch the back of his head. "You could stay here for the night," her face flicked through various shades of red. "I mean, not like _that_." He said hastily, "I just mean like stay here, with me."

She seemed to think about it for a minute, before standing up on her toes and kissing him lightly on the cheek. "Maybe not tonight. I trust you and would love nothing more than staying with you, but how would it look to the others?"

He nodded, "I don't think it really matters what they think, but I'm not trying to push you into anything. As long as we're together I'm happy." Stepping forward he folded her into his arms.

They stood like that for a long while, both reluctant to end the moment. When the last vestiges of light were disappearing from the sky Hinata loosened her grip and stepped back. With another quick kiss she turned in the direction of her home and left for the night.

**A/N: I hope Hinata and Naruto don't come across as too OOC, they are bound to be different from the manga and this is where I see them being. It was hard to find a balance between her new confidence and her signature shyness. I didn't want to get rid of one in favor of the other because that is simply not her character. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. I see no reason to stop posting these now and there is far, far more to come. Feel free to PM me if there are aspects of my take on the post-war Narutoverse that need explaining or if you have any other questions that aren't suited to a review.**


	11. The Reappearance

**A/N: Hmm, chapter 649 of the manga kind of proved some of my guesses wrong. I suppose I'll just be calling this an alt starting at ch. 648. It'll stay accurate up until then, but if what I think is coming in the manga does indeed come to pass, then my post-war will be completely inaccurate. I'll have to change the summary. Anyway...**

-Naruto-

After reclaiming his parent's house Naruto fell into a routine. Every day he would help Grandma Tsunade either in the mission room or with paperwork. When he got off in the afternoons he alternated between training with Hinata's team and teaching himself a handful of new jutsu. The latter was very exciting because one of the jutsus he was learning was the Flying Raijin Jutsu. His father's signature jutsu and the one that earned him the title of Yellow Flash.

A few weeks passed in this manner. Nothing more interesting than the occasional forward progress in his training happening. He was bored to tears during the day, but he savored the time he got to spend with Nami and Hinata. It wasn't long before the rumors about the three of them began circulating.

"Did you hear?"

"About the Sage and the Heiress?"

"Apparently they have a child together."

Naruto smiled to himself every time he caught wind of conversations like that. _The Sage and the Heiress, sounds like a fairy tale_, he mused. At some point in the last few weeks people had begun to call him the Toad Sage of Konoha. It seemed that they had finally decided on what to call their local hero.

"Yo, Naruto," A voice broke him from his thoughts.

Shaking his head to clear it he looked over at his companion, "Sorry Shikamaru, I got lost in my thoughts."

"It always freaks me out a little to see you thinking," The brown haired man beside him said. "I promised I'd help you out with all this paperwork, not do it for you. What're you thinking about anyway?"

"Nothing important, just my new moniker." Naruto turned back to the stack of papers in front of them Picking one up he glanced over it. Some sort of weapons manifest.

"I heard about that. The Hidden Leaf's Toad Sage. Sounds a bit mature for you."

"Yeah, and it only covers one aspect of my skills, ya know. Like what about my Bijuu powers, or my wind style, or my sheer awesomeness." Naruto waved his hands for emphasis, then leaned back in his chair. "Not to mention it could at least be more original, Pervy Sage was a Toad Sage too. Most people didn't call him that though because he was one of the Sannin."

"There are worse things to be called than a Toad Sage," Shikamaru offered. "Speaking of monikers, how is the training in the Yellow Flash's jutsu going?"

"I've pretty much mastered it. My aim can be a bit off and I'm not near as fast as Dad was, but that's to be expected. It will definitely be an asset in a fight though. Hinata says that I should get better at fighting without Sage or Bijuu Mode and she's probably right." Before he could continue the door to their little room burst open.

A very winded shinobi stood in the doorway. Naruto recognized him from his time in the mission room, this man was a Chunin with one of the patrol teams.

"Enemies...at the gate," he panted in between breaths. "Uzumaki-sama, Hokage-sama has requested your presence there."

Naruto and Shikamaru rose simultaneously, "Shikamaru, get the others and meet me on top of the wall. I don't want to take any chances if it's the same people from Suna. I'm going to get Nami to safety, she's with Hinata at my place right now."

As soon as his friend acknowledged the orders Naruto teleported away, using a seal on a kunai in his home as the target.

"Hinata!" He called, moving towards Nami's room.

"Naruto-kun, what's wrong?" The Hyuuga heiress asked when he strode into the room.

"We seem to be under attack, I'm going to take her to Iruka-sensei so she'll be evacuated when the time comes. Then you and I are going to the gate to see what's going on." He picked his infant daughter up and cradled her to his chest.

"Da!" She cried looking up at her father. His eyes widened and a grin slowly split his face. Hinata gasped and put a hand to her mouth.

"Your timing is as bad as mine baby girl. I'm so proud though." He kissed her on the forehead and, nodding to Hinata, teleported to one of the seals he had spread around the village. This one was only a couple blocks from the Academy.

As soon as he could see the school he saw the children streaming from it. There were adults guiding them in the direction of the nearest bunker. They had already started the evacuation. _That can't be good._

After a couple seconds of looking Naruto spotted the man he was searching for, "Iruka-sensei!"

The man in question looked up at him, "Naruto? Shouldn't you be at the gates?"

"I'm headed there soon, I need you to take Nami with you to the bunker." The blonde man gestured with his head to the bundle in his arms.

"Of course," Iruka said, reaching out to take the baby. "Be careful out there Naruto, you have people waiting for you to come home now."

Naruto clapped the man who had been the first to recognize him as more than _that boy _on the shoulder. "I will, see you in a little." After a lingering gaze on his daughter Naruto teleported back to his house.

When he arrived Hinata was already fully geared and waiting by his seal. Smiling he wrapped his arms around her. She placed her head on his chest and closed her eyes. Naruto focused his will on the seal situated at the top of the gates, picturing himself there and then making it so.

In the blink of an eye they were standing on the wall above the town's main gates. Looking around he saw that all of their friends were already there, with the exception of Sasuke and Sai. Both were members of ANBU and had other duty stations to report to.

"Naruto. Hinata." Shikamaru said simply.

"What do we have?" Naruto strode to the edge and looked down on the outside of the village. Gathered there was a large number of people.

"Based on the description we think these are the shinobis you faced in Suna. However you are the only one here who has seen them."

"They definitely look the same. There are far more of them though. We only faced about 500 of them in Suna, there are easily 2,000 here." Naruto gazed behind him towards the Hokage building. "What are the orders from Granny?"

Shikamaru walked to stand next to him. "We wait to see what they want, if they make any threatening moves we attack. Most of our other ninja will be spread out just inside the gate. We get to be the front line, what a drag. Lady Tsunade has already sent word to the other villages, but it would be at least a day's travel for any reinforcements."

"Simple enough. With a force this large I'd like to go full Kyuubi, but I can't risk it this close to the village. Try as I might taking on a tailed beast's form tends to cause a lot of collateral damage."

The ten friends stood at the edge of the wall, leaning against the railing. All they could do now was wait. For several minutes nothing happened. After half an hour had passed one of the masked figures below stepped forward and looked up at the doors expectantly.

"I think that's our cue. Shikamaru with me, everyone else stay up here for the time being." Looking down the walls a short way Naruto spotted a Leaf shinobi holding a signaling light. "Pass the word to the Hokage that we're going down to see what they want." The man nodded and began flashing his light in a pattern towards the next signaler.

Naruto and Shikamaru jumped from the wall, landing easily in front of the masked ninjas.

"Is there something we can do for you?" Naruto asked feigning nonchalance.

In a raspy voice that Naruto recognized the man replied, "You can surrender your village to us immediately."

"You sound good for a dead man, I killed you myself in the attack on Suna." Shikamaru looked quizzically at Naruto. Turning to his friend the blonde continued, "It appears that not feeling pain isn't the only trick up their sleeves."

The man bowed slightly, "I am honored to have the chance to fight you again Uzumaki-sama, however we will win this time. I will give you two hours to surrender, after that we will take Konoha by force."

Naruto was about to retort when Shikamaru placed a hand on his shoulder. "We will consider your offer." The brown haired shinobi said to the enemy leader.

After a moment his blonde companion nodded. Naruto teleported them both back to the top of the wall.

"You have a plan?" He asked his friend.

"Right now I'm just buying us time to come up with one." Shikamaru walked to the signal light holder and relayed the enemy demands. "Also the more time we have to observe them the better chance we have to figure out their motives. There's no way they actually want to take over our village. That would cause an immediate conflict with the other four major villages."

All of the gathered shinobi looked thoughtful. Who were these mysterious enemies? And what was their true goal?


	12. The Deal

**A/N: So I feel the need to apologize in advance, this chapter may not be the best. It's about as good as I could get it and is the only way I think I could get myself out of the corner I wrote myself into. It's a tad...eh. Hopefully I managed to salvage it, but that's up to you readers.**

-Naruto-

The deadline was approaching fast. An hour and a half had already elapsed. Shikamaru was crouched with his hands forming a circle. They all knew this meant he was thinking so they tried to keep as quiet as possible.

"Naruto, I think I may know part of what's going on but I need to confirm something." The strategist looked up at his blonde friend, "During the attack on Suna you said they didn't use anything but taijutsu correct?"

"Yeah, they just charged us with kunai, didn't really make any sense."

"Did any of them talk? Besides the leader?" Shikamaru continued.

Naruto shook his head, "No, in fact I don't even think they grunted. That's part of the reason we figured they couldn't feel pain. Why?"

Shikamaru got to his feet and looked over the railing, "I think they are golems. This type of golem is a forbidden jutsu though, I heard one of the Iwa Jonin mention it during the war. The caster must be the one we talked to, and he's not very good at it. Normal golems can supposedly copy every aspect of their target. These are just physically like him."

"So that explains them disappearing after death, and if it's a bad cast then that could explain the lack of pain. Lucky for him."

"Exactly," Shikamaru nodded, "I still can't explain why though. Why take 500 to Suna, and then bring 2,000 to us. What's the connection?"

Naruto's eyes widened, "Me. He's here for me."

"You think he's trying to capture you like the Akatsuki. Trying to control Kurama?" Sakura asked.

"No, I think he wants to beat me, plain and simple. He wants to prove he's stronger than I am. That explains the change in target and the increase in force. He came after me." Naruto shook his head, "As if my own village hero worshiping me wasn't enough, now I've got this guy."

"We can't really be sure of that, Naruto. It makes a kind of sense, but why was he in Suna first? You didn't arrive until after we received word that they were there." Shikamaru pointed out.

"Why is everyone always Naruto this, and Naruto that?" Kiba whined.

"You would prefer if the crazy and power hungry people in the world came after you?" Shino asked him.

"Well, no." The dog ninja answered sulkily.

"Anyway," Naruto jumped back into the conversation. "What if he was looking for a 'worthy' opponent? It explains why his force wasn't big enough to take the village but could've done a lot of damage. He was trying to lure out the big guns, and he found me."

Shikamaru looked thoughtful for a moment, "Maybe, but we have no way to prove it."

"That's not entirely true," Naruto grinned _that _grin. The one that said 'I'm about to do something reckless'. Sure enough in one motion he vaulted the railing and fell to the ground.

"Naruto!" Hinata, Shikamaru, and Sakura spoke at the same time. The others on the wall simply smacked their hands to their foreheads. Akamaru whined slightly his ears flat back on his head.

Naruto stood up and brushed himself off, "Hey there. Me again."

"Are you here to accept the terms of your surrender?" The raspy voice asked.

"No, and I think you knew that when you showed up here. Shinobi don't surrender, not without a damn good reason." He peeked around the man at the army assembled behind him. "That's quite the force you got there, did it take you all month to put it together?"

The man remained silent, watching the Sage warily.

"Right then. You mind if I ask why you're really here?" Naruto waved a hand vaguely upwards and behind him. "My comrades and I are more than capable of crushing you, but I think you know that. You knew you weren't going to win at Suna either. So why bother?"

The man bowed his head slightly, "You are correct, I am not here for your village. You see I am the strongest shinobi my village has ever seen." A maniacal tone entered his voice, "I'm here to crush you Naruto Uzumaki. After our last fight I did some research on you. Son of the Fourth Hokage, Sage of the Mountain Toads, Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox, and Hero of the Fourth Great Shinobi War. You are quite famous, and are one of only a few shinobi rated Kage level."

"You flatter me...I think. I am all those things and more. But why me? Gaara is almost as strong as I am, depending on the day he may even be stronger and the other Kages are plenty strong too. So why are you focused on me?"

"That's easy," the masked man cackled. "If I were to defeat the great Naruto Uzumaki I would be hailed as the greatest shinobi who ever lived. Everyone would bow down to me, I could rule this world."

"Doesn't that seem a bit...cliche to you. I mean, defeat the strong good guy and become the evil overlord. Isn't that like the most over used motive ever?" Naruto shrugged, "Whatever, how about we make a deal? You and I fight it out, me versus all two thousand of you. There's a field just north of the village. If you win and kill me my people will let you go on your way. If I win...well there really isn't anything I need from you."

The man glared at Naruto, "What kind of trick is this? I will fight you right here and now." The man turned to signal the attack to his golems.

"I wouldn't do that, if you attack now my people will join the fight and you'll never prove you can beat me." Naruto held the man's gaze for a moment, "The choice is yours, one versus two thousand or two thousand versus an entire village."

After a minute of thinking the man nodded, "Very well. We will meet in an hour at this field you spoke of."

"Good, I'll bring a couple people from the village so you have witnesses. I give you my word they will not interfere, even if you kill me."

With another nod the man turned and began to lead his troops to the north. Naruto sighed heavily and transported back to the top of the wall. He grinned a little sheepishly at his friends before relaying the conversation he just had. A jumble of voices assaulted him at once and he raised a hand to stop them.

"Listen, this was the only way to prevent damage to the village. The people will be safe, that is all that matters." Naruto gestured for them to continue speaking.

"This is the stupidest idea you've had yet, Naruto." Sakura spoke up.

"I wish to fight beside you." Lee chimed in, punching imaginary enemies.

"We should use this to set up a trap." Shikamaru said.

"I will be following through with this. I will fight him alone and none of you will interfere. I gave him my word and I..." He trailed off looking to Hinata.

"Never go back on your word. That is our nindo. Our ninja way." She nodded but didn't look excited about the upcoming fight. "I will come with you Naruto."

He nodded, "Shikamaru I want you there too."

"Hang on, don't act like you're just taking those two. We're all coming." Kiba said to an agreeing bark from Akamaru. The others all nodded.

"Very well, but no one will fight but me. Even if I die, you stay out of it." His voice was sharper than he meant it to be, he smiled a little. "This is one of those things that I have to do alone, at least physically. It will be nice to have you all there though." Turning to the signaler he called, "Please inform Granny Tsunade of this plan."

"She's not going to be happy," Tenten commented.


	13. The Solo Battle

-Hinata-

As they made their way to the designated battlefield Naruto was being scolded by Lady Tsunade. Hinata had to fight to contain her giggles.

"How can you be this reckless and stupid?" The older woman asked.

"This was the best option Granny. Even Shikamaru said so." Naruto pleaded, his hands instinctively shielding his head.

"Don't involve me in this." Shikamaru said from further back in the group.

It wasn't long before they reached the edge of a large field. Situated near the middle was the army that Naruto was going to face. Hinata turned to him.

"Are you going to do what I think you are?" She said, her voice hesitant and filled with worry.

He sighed, "I need to. It's as good a time as any to start." The rest of the assembled group looked on in confusion. Naruto pulled a kunai from one of his vest's pouches and tossed it in the air. As soon as it left his hand he vanished. Just as it was beginning its downward journey he reappeared and snatched it from the air.

He was now clad in a cloak that a few of them recognized. It was similar to the one they had seen the Fourth Hokage wearing during the war. This one was predominately red with black flames along the bottom.

"Isn't that the jacket you wore during your battle with Pain?" Ino asked.

"I thought that one was destroyed when you lost control." Choji said.

"It's not the exact same cloak, it's just designed the same. The toads made me a new one, I never had any chance to get it from them until recently." Naruto answered them.

"Is now really an appropriate time for a wardrobe change?" Kiba questioned.

"It's more than that. I modified this myself, it's more of a ninja tool than simple clothing."

"It suits you," Tsunade commented idly.

Naruto turned to Hinata, "This will be easy, don't worry. I'll be back in time for dinner."

She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, "I believe in you, I always have. Don't let pride get the better of you."

"I won't." He grinned and bent to kiss her. It was brief but they both poured all of their love for each other into it. Pulling away Naruto gave her another swift kiss on the forehead before turning and striding out to meet the enemy.

"Hinata, there seems to be more to this than we know. What's going on? What is he going to do?" Shikamaru asked once Naruto seemed to be out of earshot.

The Hyuuga heiress sighed, "He's going to fight without using Sage Mode or Bijuu Mode."

All of the gathered shinobi made various sounds of shock, but before any of them could race out to stop him the Hokage held a hand up for silence. "Why is he doing something so foolish Hinata?"

"You could say it's a crisis of identity. Ever since the war he's been glad of the recognition but he feels like he got there on borrowed power. He's always been relying on Kurama or the power of the toads. He worries that his own power isn't good enough for the praise he gets. That's why he's been training a lot recently, and my observations may have made it worse." She hung her head.

Sakura gently placed a hand on one of Hinata's arms, "Why does he think that? It took an immense amount of strength and determination to befriend the tailed beasts. Not to mention he was able to achieve Sage mode better and faster than Jiraiya-sama was. No one else in the village could've done those things."

"I know, and I tried to tell him that. He wants to prove that his skill as a shinobi doesn't come from something that no one else has the chance to have. He wants to prove he is better than any of the Hokages even with nothing but himself."

"Most of his high level techniques can't be used if he isn't in one of those modes. Especially the Rasenshuriken, if he were to use that like this he could permanently damage his chakra network." Shikamaru observed, "He must have something up his sleeve. Even Naruto isn't stupid enough to only go out there with Shadow Clones, Rasengans, and Flying Raijin. Especially when it comes to a fight, he has a fighter's mind and is pretty quick to gauge his opponent. I say we let him do this."

Lady Tsunade nodded solemnly, "I trust that Naruto knows what he's doing. If he thinks he can handle this then I believe him."

All eyes turned to watch the retreating figure in the red cloak. _Be safe Naruto-kun_, Hinata spoke in her mind.

-Naruto-

Naruto walked until he was a hundred or so feet from the opposing force. He planted his feet wide and crossed his arms.

"Prepare to die, Naruto Uzumaki." One of the black clad figures rasped.

"I've been prepared to die from the day I trained to become a shinobi." He made a cross with the first two fingers on each hand, "Shadow Clone Jutsu." Two identical copies of Naruto appeared, one on each side of him. All three dropped into a ready stance.

The raspy voice let loose a battle cry and all two thousand enemies charged. The blonde man and his two clones quickly formed a chain of hand signs. Then they leaned forward slightly, placing one cupped hand around their lips.

"Wind Style: Triple Dagger Storm!" They cried in unison. They puffed air from their mouths rapidly, using chakra to form it into sharp knives that tore across the field at the enemy. The front two lines of the approaching army were decimated under the barrage, the lines behind them staggering slightly but pushing forward.

Ending the jutsu Naruto and his clones folded both arms behind their backs under the cloaks they wore, reaching for the equipment pack strapped to their hips. With quick, practiced movements they began flinging kunai into the charging mass of bodies, infusing each kunai with a small portion of wind chakra to give them more penetration power. After each throw they ran their fingers along the inside of the pouch, activating the formula that allowed them to summon the special marked kunai Naruto had stored in his house.

Just as the leading edge of the army reached them the two shadow clones dispersed in puffs of smoke. Taking another of his marked kunai he lobbed it in a high arc over the golems. When the first of his opponents to reach him swung a fist at him Naruto vanished, reappearing high above them now grasping the kunai he had just thrown. Twisting his body so he was facing the ground Naruto spun up two Big Ball Rasengans, glad that he worked hard to master not using shadow clones for this part.

He let gravity handle the rest, angling himself in a dive that would land him right in the heart of the enemies. Just before the Rasengans hit the ground he focused and allowed the chakra contained within them to spiral outward obliterating those golems unfortunate enough to be within 100 feet of his landing site. This technique had the added benefit of slowing his fall tremendously, allowing him to land softly just as the last of the chakra spun out.

Naruto pulled two more kunai from his pouch, these two made from a chakra absorbing metal that Asuma-sensei had taught him about. He pictured his chakra in his mind, seeing it as two forces spinning in opposite directions along the blades as if sharpening them. A blue glow emanated from the kunai and stretched slightly beyond them. Taking a deep breath Naruto teleported to the first of the kunai he and his clones had scattered earlier.

He appeared spontaneously around the battlefield, slicing down enemy after enemy. He could see why his father had favored this jutsu, coupled with Minato's fantastic natural speed the ability to actually be anywhere at all during a fight was invaluable. After a few minutes of this more than a third of the enemy had fallen. Naruto teleported to a kunai on the outer edge of the army and stowed the two in his hands. Crossing his fingers again he grinned, _I sure hope this works_.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu," This time four more Narutos appeared flanking the original. They began a long chain of hand signs, the enemy approaching rapidly. Slamming their open palms on the ground all five shouted, "Wind Style: Roaring Kitsune Gust!" Just in front of them the wind seemed to gather momentarily before rushing outwards in the direction of the incoming army. The leading edge of the wind began to take shape, muzzles and fangs made of near transparent force appeared.

The foxes made of wind slammed into the golems, ripping and tearing through them. Dozens fell in the first seconds of contact, within a couple more hundreds had fallen. As the deadly wind dissipated and the four shadow clones with it only a hundred or so remained. _That was sloppier than I was hoping, used a little too much chakra_, Naruto chastised himself.

He began concentrating his chakra in the tips of the first two fingers of both hands. Spinning it up just like a regular Rasengan there were soon two small balls of force glowing on his fingers. He sprinted headlong into the remaining enemy, skidding to a halt as he entered the heart of the group. Dropping into a fighting stance he prepared to fight with only his fingers.

The fight began in earnest. Kunai came at him from all directions, as well as feet and fists. He dodged the attacks and emulated the fighting style he had helped Hinata with so many times. Modifying it on the fly Naruto used the miniature Rasengans on his fingertips to capitalize on the Hyuuga's Gentle Fist Technique. He wasn't as fluid as they were, and he couldn't stop his own taijutsu style from influencing him but he used the same principles they did.

With no way to see chakra points the way Byakugan could Naruto simply used the force contained in the Rasengans to deal deadly blows to throats, hearts, and heads. After what felt like hours of spinning, ducking, twirling, and tapping the last of the enemy stood alone on the field.

"So...are you the real one?" Naruto panted slightly.

"Indeed," the man rasped. "I am most impressed, I had not expected you to be this strong. Very well, now that my chakra isn't tied up maintaining those things you will face my full power." He began forming hand signs.

Naruto spotted something at the man's feet. In the blink of an eye he was standing over the man who was now on the ground, nursing his jaw. He looked up at Naruto in surprise, confused as to what had happened. The blonde man grinned and bent to retrieve the marked kunai the man had been standing next to.

"Might want to be a little more aware of your surroundings next time." The shrouded man attempted to flee, but blue chains with a slight green tint rose up from the ground and wrapped around him. Naruto crouched over him, "You're not going anywhere for a little while."

All of Naruto's friends ran up, faces filled with awe and surprise. Hinata reached him first and tackled him to the ground in a hug.

"When did you learn to do all of that?" Kiba asked.

"Between Temari helping me out and those scrolls we found at my house all I really needed was time to train. I wasn't sure my Kitsune Gust would even work, as it is it was a bit off." The blonde man answered calmly, content to lie back with his arms around Hinata.

"These chains, they're Kushina's aren't they?" Granny Tsunade asked bending over the man and examining his bindings.

"Yeah, it seems Mom left a little bit of her chakra with me and Kurama helped me to figure out the technique. I now bear the signature jutsu of both my parents." He grinned widely, "They'll always be with me, helping whenever I need them."

"C'mon Hero," Shikamaru said. "Everyone in the village is probably wondering what happened, you should head back first and let them know."

"I would, but I'm pretty low on chakra now, and I need to stay close to this guy until we can bind him better," he gestured to the masked man. "The chains will disappear if I get too far away."

"Alright then," Tsunade rose to her feet. "Akamaru if you would kindly carry the prisoner we can all head back to the village."

After much grunting and cursing Kiba, Choji, and Lee managed to get the man settled on Akamaru. The group set off at a leisurely pace for Konoha. Hinata and Naruto tried to let everyone go ahead of them but most of them were still worked up about Naruto's fight. Sighing slightly he indulged their conversations, but slipped his hand into Hinata's and laced their fingers together.

"Was that the Gentle Fist you used at the end?" Shikamaru asked.

"Sort of, after all the time I've spent with Neji and Hinata I picked up on some of the basics. I modified it a bit to fit my style a little better."

"Was that Kitsune thing a brand new jutsu?" Choji piped up.

"Yeah, Temari gave me the idea a while ago. She said something about wind taking the form of animals, it took me a while to figure it out though and even longer to get it to work. I still have to use four clones to get it done, hopefully I can lower that." Naruto answered.

"I'm guessing that all those kunai you just threw were the ones you ordered from me a few weeks ago?" Tenten asked. "How did you make it so you could teleport to them though? I just gave you regular kunai."

Naruto pulled one of said kunai from a pouch on his vest and tossed it to her, "The Flying Raijin Jutsu works by using a formula as a sort of target for the teleportation. If you look on the handle you can see my formula."

Tenten turned it over in her hands until she spotted it, "Hey, isn't this the symbol we all wear on our vests and on the uniforms that some of the others choose to wear."

Tsunade looked over and a smile graced her lips when she saw it, "That is actually the symbol of Uzushiogakure. The Hidden Eddy Village. It was destroyed during the Third Great Shinobi War and we wear the symbol to pay tribute to our friendship with them, but this has a more special meaning for Naruto. Uzushiogakure is the ancestral home of the Uzumaki clan, his mother came here from there specifically to become the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

"That's cool," Tenten said tossing the kunai back to Naruto.

"When the time came to make my seal it just felt fitting. Also thank you for all those kunai Tenten, you can probably expect me to be bulk ordering from now on." Naruto sighed contentedly.

The gates of the village came into view after a few more minutes of walking. When they swung open Naruto was surprised to see what appeared to be the entire village waiting for them. His eyes settled on a man at the front of the crowd in an instant. Iruka-sensei was right out front holding Nami in his arms. Ignoring everyone else for the moment he raced forward and scooped her up.

She giggled and looked at him, "Da!" Naruto beamed at her.

"That's my baby girl." He brushed the few strands of wispy black hair from her forehead and kissed it gently. All around him the crowd burst into loud cheering.

**A/N: Holy crap battle scenes are hard. I hope this one makes sense. Thanks for the continued support and feedback.**


	14. The Gift

-Naruto-

"I still feel like this is unnecessary." Naruto commented to Hinata as the two got ready to join the festivities. He slipped on his red cloak and stood by the door.

"You know as well as I that the villagers need to feel like there's something to celebrate. You gave them something last week." She responded, getting Nami dressed and settled in her basket.

"I guess, but was it really such a feat that we need a whole festival for it. All I did was stop an enemy, it's not the first time or the strongest foe." He fidgeted with his headband out of habit.

"True, but you fought in a way none of us have seen you use. To them this is a milestone of your growth as a shinobi, and you're Konoha's favorite son now." Hinata picked Nami up and strode to join him at the door, "I'm sure it will be fun, _Wind Fang_."

Naruto grinned at her use of the name. Over the last week while the festival was being prepared the story of his battle with the golems had spread. The villagers had quickly become entranced by his use of wind style jutsu and the way he had fought with two chakra enhanced kunai. It wasn't long before the name began circulating, and if Gaara's last letter was anything to go by it was pretty popular in Suna as well.

"I definitely like that more than Toad Sage." He opened the door to his house and they walked out into the street. It was mid-afternoon and the parties all across town were just beginning. They could hear music and jubilant voices. "Where to first?"

"The others wanted to meet us at the Academy so we could all enjoy the festival together." Hinata laced her free hand into his and started down the street.

It didn't take them long to reach the school where they had all begun their journeys as ninja. Standing out front were their friends talking amongst themselves and looking ready to party.

"Oi!" Naruto called as they drew near the group, "Aren't you all a bit old to be hanging around a school?" They all looked up and greeted the newcomers. Ino and Sakura made a beeline for Nami's basket hands outstretched.

When the greetings and cooing had settled into silence everyone was looking at each other like they were waiting for something. Tenten nudged Shikamaru and he stumbled forward slightly. Naruto raised his eyebrows in curiosity.

"Okay, okay." Shikamaru mumbled. "So after your fight with the golems, we all wanted to do something to show you that we have believed in your skills for a long time." He looked behind him at the others as if for help.

"Most of us just saw you as the class clown. You were the idiot who could barely do anything and didn't know when to quit." Kiba offered, sounding apologetic.

"Even when you managed to make Genin we still assumed you wouldn't get very far." Ino added, her eyes averted.

"During the Chunin Exams you proved us wrong." Tenten said.

"Since then you've only gotten stronger." Sakura smiled proudly at him.

"You earned our respect." Choji stated.

"And our loyalty." Shino chipped in.

"And our admiration." Lee held out a thumbs up.

"Not to mention," A voice came from behind him. "Most of us owe you our lives." Turning Naruto saw his best friend, Sasuke.

"We are proud to know you, Naruto Uzumaki." Shikamaru continued.

"And to call you a friend." Lee.

"Team-mate." Sakura.

"Comrade." Choji.

"Brother." Sasuke.

"Lover." Hinata said, just loud enough to be heard.

"And on the day you become Hokage, know that everyone of us will be behind you 100%." Shikamaru concluded. The whole group was smiling broadly. Naruto grinned in return, tears in his eyes.

"I never doubted you guys for an instant," he said.

"We know, but we feel that it needed to be said." Shikamaru shrugged like it was nothing.

"Also, we got you these." Tenten stepped forward with a cloth bundle and handed it to Naruto.

Accepting it gingerly he looked up at everyone, not sure what to say. Deciding to figure it out later he unwrapped the cloth. Inside were two fang-shaped blades. They were slightly longer than kunai, and their flat blades curved ever so slightly. The knives were clearly more suited to slashing and cutting than throwing. The back side of the blades was a dark gray that was intimidating when contrasted with the bright silver of the sharpened edge. The two colors meeting in a pattern that looked like a soft breeze.

He picked them up in his hands to test their weight. They felt absolutely perfect and hummed slightly in response to his chakra. Turning them slightly something etched on the blades caught his attention. On the flat of each blade was the Uzumaki crest, a tight spiral resembling a whirlpool. Grinning ever wider he lightly touched each etching and imparted one of his Raijin seals into them.

"You'll also need this," Kiba tossed him something.

Catching it deftly Naruto realized it was a sheath for the blades. When stowed in it the blades would be crossed, the handles pointing downward, making it easy to reach both blades simultaneously. Quickly shrugging out of his cloak, he paused for a moment trying to figure out how to attach the sheath.

"Here," Sasuke extended a hand. Naruto gave it to him. "Turn around." The blonde followed the instruction so Sasuke was now behind him.

After much tugging and clipping he felt a tap on his shoulder. Reaching his free hand behind him he felt for the sheath's placement. It was centered in the small of his back attached to his flak vest. Putting his cloak back on Naruto spun the blades once and slipped them under his cloak, around his back, and into their new holster.

"We figured if you fought with a similar style as you did a week ago it would make sense for them to be positioned behind your back. That way you can go for them or your summoning for a kunai." Shikamaru explained.

"They're perfect. I love them. Thank you guys. Now I'm eager for a fight." He looked around at his friends, pretending to look for an opponent. After a second he softened his expression and made eye contact with each of them. "When I started to truly be friends with you guys, I always thought I was lucky. I thought that I got lumped in with you guys because we were the Leaf Genin in the Exams. I figured you guys didn't really like me all that much, but we had a shared experience so you tolerated me."

He took a deep breath, "I was right." He reveled in their stunned expressions for a moment, but spoke before they could protest, "I am so lucky. Not because you tolerated me. I'm lucky because I have friends that have supported me and helped me. Friends that I could rely on to keep me on track."

He looked at Hinata, "Or snap me out of a funk."

He looked at Sasuke, "Or push me to be my best, one way or another."

He looked at Shikamaru, "Or be the brains to my muscle when I couldn't think straight."

He looked at Lee, Kiba, Choji, and Shino, "Or help me tear things up when it was time to fight."

He looked at Ino, Tenten, and Sakura, "Or be there when I just needed someone to talk to."

After another short pause, "I only hope that I have been half as good a friend to you as you have to me." They all nodded in the affirmative. The group lapsed into a companionable silence, all of them reliving fond memories of each other.

"That was some deep shit," Kiba broke the silence the hint of a smile on his lips.

"That felt good though," Naruto said also smiling.

"Alright who's ready to party?" Choji asked to a roar of approval. The group turned themselves towards the center of town and made their way to the heart of the festival.

**A/N: In this case when Hinata says 'Lover' it doesn't mean they've had sex. My interpretation of the universe is that the term can be used to just mean 'in love' or 'one who loves'. Figured I should clear that up. Also a quick shout-out to cook563 for helping me to get a good moniker and helping with the dagger idea.**


	15. The Festival

-Hinata-

As soon as the group of friends reached the central part of the festival they were swarmed. Common villagers and shinobi alike wanted to see Naruto, to talk to him, to shake hands with him. He resisted at first but then he leaned into Hinata's ear.

"Take the gang around the corner, I'll see you there." He whispered quickly before being dragged away.

Hinata turned to everyone else, they were stuck between wanting to help and not sure if they should.

"Come on, he said to go over here." She gestured towards the corner and began leading the group there. As soon as they turned the corner they saw a familiar figure waiting for them.

"You guys are slow," Naruto was leaning against the wall.

"Aren't they going to come looking for you?" Sakura asked.

"Nope, look again." He pointed around the corner.

In the middle of the cluster of stands was Naruto regaling everyone with the story of his fight with the golems.

"Oh you're a clone." Ino said simply.

"Nope, I'm the original, he's the clone."

"Prove it." Kiba said.

"The only way to do that would be for you to try to destroy me or for me to dismiss him. Neither of which I'm fond of." Just as he finished speaking Naruto shifted his weight to avoid Kiba's wild punch. "I don't think I like how easily you can just take a swing at me."

"So how'd you get out of there?" The dog ninja asked., nursing his fist that had hit the wall.

"You coupled a Shadow Clone with a Flying Raijin." Shikamaru said, a little bit of admiration in his voice.

"I may not be as fast as my Dad or Sasuke, but I'm still pretty fast." Naruto shrugged, "Now, how about we go to some of the less visited stalls and have a good time?"

Everyone agreed and soon they were off again. A couple minutes of walking brought them close to the edge of the village and a group of stalls. While Naruto avoided questions using Hinata and Nami as excuses the others played the games. No one was very good at them. Lee almost decapitated the worker at the ring toss stand and Kiba was cussing out the little rubber ducks at the duck fishing game.

"And people say we're the future of Konoha..." Sasuke commented idly.

"Kind of a scary thought, huh?" Naruto chuckled.

After a few more minutes of playing around the group started to walk again. They didn't really have any destination in mind it was just fun to walk and talk. At some point they ran into Temari, she chatted for a while and then dragged Shikamaru off into the night. He pretended to fight muttering something about her being troublesome, but his friends could see the smile in his eyes.

"That reminds me," Kiba said after they left, "Choji, you owe me 500 ryo." The larger man groaned and rooted around in his pockets for the money.

"Why did that remind you?" Tenten asked.

"They made a bet." Shino stated. "On which couple would get together first. Kiba said it would be Naruto and Hinata. Choji thought that Naruto was too dense."

"I would be insulted if it wasn't pretty much true." Naruto laughed aloud, absently draping his arm over Hinata's shoulder. She leaned into him slightly, enjoying being this close to him.

Sakura reeled back and punched Kiba and then Choji, knocking them off their feet. "You shouldn't bet on your friend's personal lives." They both sat on the ground rubbing the back of their heads, this brought laughter from the rest of the group.

Ino offered a hand to Choji, "C'mon Cho, I'm hungry. Let's go get something to eat." The large man hopped up almost instantly and took off down the street, dragging Ino by the hand.

"Wait, you guys don't think..." Naruto left the question open, vaguely pointing after the two.

"I don't think so," Tenten said thoughtfully. "Ino's still pretty into Sasuke isn't she?" Everyone else shrugged.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Naruto agreed.

Lee perked up at something he saw in the distance, "I believe that is Guy-sensei. I must go see if he is training." He tore off in pursuit of the green blur. Tenten slapped her forehead.

"I'm going to make sure he doesn't break anything...again." She trudged after him.

Kiba looked at the other shinobi still standing in a rough cluster. Spotting the trend he turned to his old team-mate, "Yo, Shino. I heard they had some weird talent show over on the west side of town, you coming?"

The bug ninja hesitated a moment then caught on, "Sure, I think one of my cousins is in it." They turned and headed west.

The remaining four friends started walking again. They had gone a few blocks when Sasuke tapped Naruto's shoulder and gestured with his head. The two men fell back and began conversing in hushed voices.

Sakura drifted closer to Hinata, "So how are things with you and Naruto?"

The heiress smiled warmly and blushed, "Everything's great. He's far more compassionate and caring than he acts. As strong as he is in battle, he's just as kind."

The pinkette chuckled slightly, "I'm glad he finally figured his feelings out."

Hinata nodded, "Even if he hadn't, just being around him is enough for me."

The two men sped back up and flanked the girls. Naruto grabbed Nami's basket from Hinata and slipped his free hand into Hinata's. Sasuke looked at the ground in thought for a moment before looking up at Sakura.

"Do you want to go...somewhere?" He asked her, his voice was almost shy. Hinata was surprised, she hadn't ever known the Uchiha to be anything but stoic. Looking up at Naruto she saw he was looking straight ahead a wide and knowing smile on his face.

Sakura stopped suddenly and so did Sasuke. Naruto continued walking, taking Hinata with him. It wasn't long before they were alone on the streets of the village.

"What was that?" Hinata asked.

"That was something that Teme should've done months ago. He's been worse than me since the war, emotionally speaking. The whole Itachi's the bad guy, but really the good guy thing. Then the destroy the village, or protect it choice. All of it took a toll on him. On top of that, having to admit that the final battle was one only I could fight was a pretty big blow to him." Naruto shrugged. "It's one of the reasons he wanted to go into ANBU, even beyond trying to avoid the villagers, he was a bit shaken. He tried to talk with me about it and I did what I could, but Sakura will be of more help."

"It's good that you two have such a close relationship." Hinata commented.

"Of everybody in the academy I always felt that he understood me on a level no one else could. We were the same, in a way. He chose anger and revenge, like Gaara. I chose determination and hope. Unlike Gaara, Sasuke actually had a chance to change before things got really bad and he tried, but he was already too deep in his hate. I've never blamed him for that."

They walked in silence for a while, simply enjoying each others presence. As the sun started setting Naruto turned them down a road leading back to the center of the village. Hinata was confused at first, then she remembered that the festival was being held in his honor. He was expected to make a big appearance and probably a speech.

"Can you hold Nami's basket, I'm going to hold her for this next part." He offered the basket to her, scooping the infant out. "Hopefully I can end it quicker that way."

"In a few years I'm telling her about all the horrible ways you used her." Hinata threatened.

His eyes lit up, "A few years, huh? You think we'll still be together then?" He asked playfully.

She blushed furiously and looked at the ground. Bending slightly Naruto kissed her temple.

"As far as I'm concerned," he whispered his voice full of love and sincerity. "You're never leaving my side." This only served to deepen her blush.

The moment was ended abruptly as they turned a corner into the main plaza. A stage had been erected on one side and people had started to gather around it. They were all looking around, trying to find someone. It didn't take long for them to be spotted.

Shouts of "Wind Fang!" and "Uzumaki-sama!" greeted them as the crowd surged their way. As Naruto was herded on stage by the crowd Hinata drifted over to a group standing off to one side. All their friends had reconvened here after their side trips. None of them would miss this. The idle chatter died down as Naruto finally stood in the center of the stage.

"Good evening," He started. "Uh, I wasn't really planning on giving a speech, to be honest I was tempted to just stay at home. That probably wouldn't have gone over well with Granny Tsunade though." He waved at someone in the distance, everyone turned to see the Hokage standing in a corner sake bottle in hand.

"Anyway, this festival is supposed to be in my honor, and I truly am honored." He continued, "I am a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf and I am proud to be able to say that. A lot of people have speculated on the reasons I am as strong as I am. It's quite simple really. I bear the Will of Fire, just like everyone here. We don't quit when the odds are against us, and we never back down when something we care about is on the line. With that mentality I believe that Konoha is the strongest village." Next to Hinata Temari scoffed loudly.

Naruto looked at her grinning, "Sorry Temari, simply the facts. Like I was saying, I am strong because I never back down. Even when I'm losing I will fight to the end. More than that though, I'm strong because people believe in me. My friends, my family, and my village trust me to be strong for them." He pointed to the group of people around Hinata, "Those 10 ninja right there, except the scowling one, have supported me and helped me be the best I can be. I used to think that I wanted to be Hokage so that the people of this village would stop seeing me as _that boy_."

Some of the assembled crowd hung their heads, or looked away from him. Naruto crouched down to look at them, "I don't blame you, and I don't hate you. You were scared and you had every right to be. I used to think that's what being Hokage meant, being respected and acknowledged by the village. I was wrong, very wrong. I learned that being Hokage means protecting everyone in this village and giving everything you are to protect them."

He looked around, "4 years ago, I don't know that I was willing to do that. I was a little bit selfish, I was out to be strong. Not for you, but for me. Something changed when the Akatsuki started their plans. When Pain attacked the village looking for me and I arrived too late to stop him my heart broke. A lot of you were dead or dying, even some of the strongest shinobi in the village fell in that battle. A close friend of mine being among them," Naruto shuddered slightly remembering what it was like when he arrived and couldn't sense Kakashi-sensei.

"I never wanted that to happen. Sure I didn't particularly like some of you a few years ago, but never did I once think you deserved that, and thankfully everyone was spared that day. I swore that I would never let that happen again, I would stop anyone who threatened _my _village, _my _home. I was willing to fight the man who I consider to be my brother to the death to stop him from trying." He made eye contact with Sasuke, Hinata could see the remorse in the Uchiha's eyes.

"So I became strong, stronger than anyone thought I could be. All in the name of protecting my village and trying to rid the world of the hate that caused so much pain. Now here we are, enjoying a time of peace unheard of in a hundred years." A cheer rang out and Naruto had to raise a hand to quiet it, "But I alone didn't get us here and I wasn't able to bring everyone home from the war, for that I am truly sorry. If you don't mind I would like to observe a moment of silence for our fallen." Everyone lowered their heads in remembrance and respect.

When he deemed enough time had passed Naruto started again, "Now I would ask, use this festival not to celebrate me. Not to mourn those who have passed. Please, eat, drink, and party. Remember the lives of those who are gone. Celebrate that we got to meet them, that they were all noble and strong. Enjoy this for them, because they are the reason I have gotten as far as I have." The crowd roared its approval and the festival began again in earnest.

Jumping off the stage Naruto walked over to his friends. "How was it?"

"It was okay," Temari said sulkily.

"You were great," Hinata told him reaching up to kiss him.

"I didn't even know you knew half of those words." Kiba pitched in.

"You forget, I spent those first two weeks after the war visiting Shikamaru in the hospital and playing shogi, he talked a lot." Naruto shrugged.

Sasuke looked about to say something, but Naruto just extended a fist to him.

"Remember what you told me a few years ago?" The blonde asked. "We're high-level shinobi now, and no one ever said the fists had to be punches." Sasuke nodded and placed his fist knuckle to knuckle with his friend. After a few moments both retracted their hands, looking relaxed.

"I think the fireworks are about to start," Ino exclaimed.

"Ah. That's our cue to leave." Naruto said pulling Hinata closer.

"You aren't staying for the fireworks?" Sakura asked.

"We'll be watching, but not from way down here," he pointed up to the top of the cliff that was carved with the faces of the Hokage. "We're going to the best seats in the village." Without another word they were suddenly on top of the monument. The village was spread out below them.

Naruto released Hinata for long enough to put Nami back in her basket, she was now sleeping peacefully. He sat down carefully and tapped the ground next to him in invitation. The heiress plopped down and scooted close to him, shivering slightly with the night chill.

Naruto pulled off his cloak and draped it over her then pulled her against his body. She leaned her head on his shoulder and watched as the first firework arced into the air. It exploded in a shower of red sparks. Hinata sighed, she thought there was no way this moment could get any better. Then Naruto whispered her new favorite words.

"I love you."


	16. The Day

-Naruto-

July 3rd came faster than any of them expected. Naruto was simultaneously looking forward to and dreading this day.

"I can't believe it's time already," he said absently.

"Feels like just yesterday the war was ending," Tenten agreed.

"What time are we supposed to be there again?" Kiba asked.

"Hinata said any time after 5 should be good. We'll probably be going early to help set up." Naruto looked up at his friends. They were in the mission room as had become their custom whenever they had time. If Naruto was working in here then whoever had time off would come pay him a visit.

Today was special though. Today they weren't here just to make jokes and take his mind off the tedious work.

"Do you mind if I tag along with you, Naruto?" Tenten asked, "I don't know if I can bring myself to go alone."

"It's not a problem, of course you can come with us." The blonde man laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Why do you three look so gloomy?" A voice asked from the door. Looking up the shinobi saw the Hokage framed in the doorway.

Naruto sighed, "Hey Granny. Today is July 3rd. Neji's birthday." Tsunade nodded solemnly.

"I see. Well I hope you don't plan on moping like that all day." At their bewildered looks she continued, "You said it best yourself Naruto. Don't mourn the fallen, celebrate their lives. Be happy for all that they did. Especially on his birthday, save the mourning until..." She trailed off a little sadly.

There was no need for her to finish the sentence, they knew what she meant. Save the mourning until the anniversary of his death, the day that he was taken from this world. Their collective silence was interrupted by soft grunting.

Looking over at the basket on the table Naruto smiled softly. Inside Nami was looking up at him with wide intelligent green eyes. She had a smile on her lips and was flexing her hands at him. Reaching inside gently he pulled the little girl out and sat her on the table.

Nami gurgled excitedly and looked all around her. She had started to become more aware of her surroundings as of late. When she had done her looking for the time she glanced back at Naruto.

"Da!" She grunted and swung her arms at him. Smiling, Naruto picked her up and held her to him, she buried her face in his chest, clutching at the vest he wore.

"If you don't mind my asking, what are your plans for today?" Tsunade asked into the silence.

Tenten looked away from the father and daughter, "The Hyuugas are hosting a party, just the family and Neji's friends."

"Old Hiashi is actually _inviting_ people into his house?" The older woman laughed slightly, "You kids have really done a number on this village. Although I guess it doesn't hurt that Neji's friends are the next Hokage, the village's smartest tactician – who will also likely be said next Hokage's adviser, several heirs to the most powerful clans in the village, the most proficient Weapon Mistress the village has ever seen, one of our strongest taijutsu fighters, the next Head Med-nin, and the last remaining Uchiha." The younger ninja couldn't help but smile at her descriptions of them, it was probably the most accurate breakdown of the members of the Konoha 12.

"There's more to it than that now," Naruto commented. "When I was talking to Hiashi-san the other day he actually seemed genuinely interested in meeting everyone. He said that it would be good to see the people who had such a profound effect on Neji and Hinata."

"Most of that was you though, and since when do you call him Hiashi-san?" Tenten asked.

"We both got tired of being referred to as Hyuuga-sama and Uzumaki-sama by each other, so we agreed to use something less formal." He shrugged.

"Does this mean that you and Hinata are getting more serious?" Tsunade playfully asked.

"There's not much more serious to get, both of us want to be together always. For now we're just letting convention dictate timing. For us marriage will just be a formality. Albeit a complicated formality." Naruto said, avoiding the woman's bait.

"I hadn't thought about that," Tenten looked thoughtful. "If you two were to get married then what happens to your respective clans?"

"It's even more complicated than you realize," Tsunade chimed in. "Naruto is the heir to the Uzumaki clan by name, but at the same time if things had progressed normally he would have been a Namikaze. As the only Uzumaki in the village he has the right to re-establish his clan here, but in marrying a Hyuuga heiress he would be tying the two clans together." She tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"That's where the problem lies." Naruto said, "While marriage isn't being truly discussed right now, Hiashi-san wanted to make sure I grasped the whole problem before the time came. I think he's hoping we can figure something out before the other Hyuuga elders get involved."

"Why are you even discussing marriage at this point?" Kiba spoke up from his chair, "You two have only been dating for like two months."

Tenten scoffed at him, "Please, they've practically been dating since the war, Naruto's just an idiot." She looked at the blonde apologetically.

"The lady's got a point there dog-breath." Naruto added grinning, "Anyway, like I said, we're both fully committed. I never want to be without her again, simple as that. The discussions aren't even about a marriage, they're more about the discussions that will come later."

Tsunade nodded, "Marriages between clans can be complicated things. They can be used as bargaining chips, signs of friendship, or moves of power. The union between my grandfather and Mito Uzumaki was arranged to symbolize the friendship between the Senju clan and the Uzumakis. There is a lot to consider." She shrugged, "Naruto, I just came down to see how things were going."

"Everything's fine, it's a bit slow today. We had a lot of Bs and Cs yesterday, even an A. Most of our Chunin and Jonin are out on those. Today it's mostly just the routine Ds, the Genin are going to hate me."

"Sounds like you're getting the hang of this Hokage thing." She smiled at him, "Should I feel like my position is threatened?"

"Granny, your position has been threatened ever since Pervy Sage and I came to get you for it. I told you then that I was going to be Hokage and now I'm practically doing the job for you." He chuckled.

With a soft laugh Tsunade turned to leave, "Don't get too confident, I'm not ready to give it up just yet." She waved vaguely over her shoulder as she exited the room.

Turning back to his friends Naruto was about to resume talking to them when a group of people entered. Looking up at the new-comers Naruto recognized them as Team 4, one of the other Genin teams in the same year as Hinata's team. He sighed and looked down at the scrolls in front of him trying to find a mission to give them.

Tenten leaned over to him and in a hushed voice said, "We're going to head out, we'll see you tonight."

Naruto nodded and replied in kind, "You can stop by my place around 3ish if you still want to go with me and Hinata." She thanked him quietly and the two Jonin made their exit.

He spent the next few hours handing out missions to the handful of Genin teams. There was much groaning and griping, Naruto had to fight to stop himself from laughing when one of the kids sat down on the ground and crossed his arms. He had done the same thing years ago saying he wouldn't move until he got a C rank mission.

The boy's instructor was about to apologize but Naruto held up a hand to stop him, "It's no problem, I was the same way when I was a Genin." After finally convincing them to take a D rank mission he looked down at his watch. It was already 3 o'clock. Rearranging all of the mission reports and paperwork into a rough pile on the table Naruto hopped up to leave. Gently plopping Nami into her basket he grabbed the handle and was gone.

-Hinata-

A soft knock on the door drew Hinata's attention. She was in Naruto's house, waiting for him to get back from work. Setting the book she had been reading aside, she strode to the door. Tenten was standing outside, a sheepish smile on her face.

"Hey Hinata, Naruto said that it would be okay if I went to the party with you guys. I just..." she trailed of looking at the ground.

Hinata stepped aside and gestured for Tenten to come inside. "I know you and Neji were...close." She said guiding her friend into the living room.

"I didn't expect it to be this hard." The brown haired girl sank into the couch, "We lost him 8 months ago, and I know that if Neji had been able to choose his death he would've chosen exactly that. He died saving his two dearest friends, and he died on the battlefield." She shook her head, "But he was supposed to turn 19 today, and it's really just hitting me that he's gone."

Hinata nodded, "I know, but remember what Neji said. I think that it's true for all of us. Our lives aren't just ours anymore, everyone who died during the war, especially the ones that died getting Naruto to the final battle are part of us." She tapped her chest, just above her heart. "Neji, and Jiraiya-sama, and Asuma-sensei, and all the others are right here."

Tenten nodded more to herself than Hinata. Naruto chose that moment to appear in the middle of the living room causing both women to flinch slightly.

"Sorry I'm late Hinata," he paused for a moment at the sight of Tenten. "You okay?" He asked her.

"I'm better now," the Weapon Mistress answered putting on a weak smile.

"Alright then, are we ready to go?" Naruto looked at both of them expectantly like they were the ones who were late.

The three left the house and made their way towards the Hyuuga compound. Naruto offered Nami to Tenten, knowing that women seemed to feel less sad when holding a baby. He slipped his arm around Hinata's waist and drew her closer to him. She in turn rested her head on his shoulder and laid a hand on his.

They chit chatted idly discussing nothing of importance. It was a few minutes before the gates that marked the entrance to Hinata's home came into view. Standing out front was Hanabi, when she spotted them she jogged out to meet them.

"Hinata-nee." She said cheerily, "Naruto-nii." Turning to Tenten she smiled, "You must be Tenten, Neji-nii talked about you a lot. He said no one knew their way around weapons like you." The older girl blushed slightly.

"Hey, Hanabi. You mind taking care of Nami for a little while, I think we're gonna get roped into the set up." Naruto asked.

"Sure," the young girl reached up to take the baby from Tenten then retreated back into the compound.

"She's very different from what I was expecting," Tenten commented.

Hinata gazed off in the direction her sister had gone, "After everything that happened our father stopped being quite so strict and pressuring. It turns out that Hanabi is a lot more carefree and happy than she acted."

The friends made their way inside, it didn't take long for them to be spotted.

"Daughter, Naruto-san," a voice called from somewhere to their left. Turning they all spotted Hiashi Hyuuga making his way towards them. "And you must be the Weapon Mistress I've heard about, Tenten right?"

The girl in question averted her eyes. "Yes sir, Hyuuga-sama." The older man smiled softly.

"Naruto-san, if you'll join me outside perhaps we can speed up the preparations. Hinata, please make sure our guest feels welcome, as well as your other friends when they arrive."

"Of course, father." Hinata nodded and watched the two men retreat outside. Gesturing to a door off to one side she led Tenten to a small lounge room. There were couches and chairs arranged along the walls.

"So Naruto said something interesting today," Tenten started playfully. "Something about marriage being a formality?"

Hinata blushed deeply, "Y-yes." She couldn't manage more than the one syllable. Tenten's soft laugh wasn't mocking or embarrassing, it sounded almost relieved.

"I'm glad that he knows how much he needs you. Has always needed you really. I'm happy for both of you."

Hinata thanked her and retreated to get them drinks. When she returned they talked for a while. After a time Naruto joined them and sat down next to Hinata. Tenten smiled inwardly at the way they unconsciously leaned into each other.

It wasn't long before a knock came from the main entrance. Excusing herself Hinata hopped up and handed her drink to Naruto. When she opened the door a welcome sight greeted her. All of their friends had arrived, including Guy-sensei. She showed them to the lounge and then went to get drinks.

After handing the drinks out Hinata noticed a slight problem. All of the seats were taken, it didn't help that Akamaru was sprawled out on a couch all his own. This only gave her a moment's pause though. Without bothering to think of appearances or how embarrassing it might be she slid into Naruto's lap leaning back into his chest.

The occupants of the room hushed for a moment, it was still strange for them to see her confident enough to do these kinds of things. Naruto wrapped his arm over her stomach and held her closer. Their friends got over their shock and went back to whatever conversation they had been having.

Hanabi poked her head in a little later, a fidgeting Nami in her arms. "I think she's ready to be back with you Naruto-nii." She handed the baby back to him.

"Thank you of taking care of her," he scooped his daughter up and tossed her lightly in the air to outrageous giggling.

"Also father says that everything is ready." The young Hyuuga said before retreating. The assembled shinobi glanced at each other briefly before filing after her.

**A/N: I had originally intended to get the whole party out of the way in this chapter, but I actually got a lot more out of these scenes then I expected. I would just keep going, and I know a lot of you seem to want longer chapters, but the more I write per chapter the longer it takes to update. I am making a concentrated effort to be a bit longer winded though, I started with the idea of 1100-1500ish as a chapter length but now I'm trying to clear at least 2k per.**


	17. The Birthday Party

-Naruto-

The center courtyard of the Hyuuga compound had been turned into an outdoor banquet. Three large tables were set up in a rough U-shape. Hyuugas from both branches of the family sat mingled at the tables forming the arms of the U. The only occupant of the middle table was Hiashi, and he gestured for the group to join him there.

Hinata took her seat to the right of her father, and Naruto took the seat on his other side, slipping Nami's basket under the table. The others took seats along the table, all of them facing the other two tables. When everyone had been seated the gathering quieted quickly and looked up at Hiashi.

"Today marks the day that Neji Hyuuga was born into this world 19 years ago. Sadly my nephew could not be here to celebrate with us." He said to them. "He would not want us to sit and mourn his passing, so today we will celebrate his life and all he accomplished. If anyone has some words now would be appropriate."

Naruto tapped Hiashi on the arm and the older man nodded. Still holding his daughter the blonde man rose. "When I first met Neji I made an assumption, and it's one I've made before. I assumed that being as skilled as he was somehow made him into an arrogant and uncaring person." Glancing sideways at Sasuke he continued, "Both times I made that assumption I was wrong. Neji wasn't inherently cruel, circumstances had caused him to act that way for his own reasons." He was careful not to say that it had been the division of the main and side branches of the Hyuuga and the death of his father that had led to this.

"He wasn't cruel. He was angry, and sad, and hurting. He took it out on Hinata and seeing that convinced me of his cruelty, again a mistake I have since tried not to make. When we fought during the Chunin Exams 4 years ago, I got to hear first hand what had made him into the person he was. I also heard in his voice that he wanted to change, and he wanted to be able to change. After that fight I got to meet the real Neji Hyuuga. One of the most intelligent, caring, and honest people I have ever met."

I am glad to have met him. He was a good man, and a better friend. I personally owe him my life, and the life of Hinata. Several of us here," he gestured at his friends seated beside him, "owe him our lives." Bushy Brow-sensei looked on the verge of tears, Lee and Tenten were trying to calm the blubbering man. "I can only hope that we live up to the sacrifice he made so that we could all be here today." Reaching down he grabbed his drink, raising it high in the air.

"To Neji. A Hyuuga. One of the Konoha 12. And a shinobi. Happy Birthday, man. We'll always keep you close to our hearts." Naruto took his seat as everyone raised their glasses and drank. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Tenten grab Lee's glass and switch it with one filled with water.

After he had spoke Hiashi asked, "Anyone else?" Everyone looked around but no one spoke up. They all seemed to think Naruto had pretty much covered it. "Very well then, let the celebrations begin." Clapping his hands the head of the Hyuuga clan summoned the food.

The atmosphere quickly changed from gloomy to jubilant. Stories were told, jokes were made, food was passed, and people did their best to enjoy themselves for Neji. The party went on for hours and showed no sign of slowing. At one of the lulls in the conversations Hinata went inside, Naruto and Nami watched her go, the infant saying something her father couldn't quite hear.

He didn't have to wait long to find out what it was though, a few moments later the heiress returned and the entire gathering quieted. Nami spoke up in a voice loud enough to carry across the yard, "Ma!" She was staring right at Hinata and holding her arms out. Any remaining talk was silenced immediately.

Naruto's wide blue eyes met Hinata's wider lavender orbs. For a long moment they simply stared at each other. They hadn't ever talked about it seriously but Hinata _was_ pretty much the baby's mother at this point as far as they were concerned. The blonde man shrugged and offered Nami. With confident strides the midnight haired woman crossed to them and picked the girl up in her arms. She kissed the child lightly on the top of her head.

"I was wondering when that was gonna happen," Sasuke broke the silence. Everyone's gazes fell to him. The stoic Uchiha speaking up was almost as interesting as what had just happened.

"She has spent pretty much just as long with Nami as Naruto has," Sakura chipped in.

"Does that make me an aunt?" A voice came from one of the side tables, Hanabi was standing in her chair for a better view.

Naruto and Hinata locked eyes again, then they both looked at Hiashi. He smiled softly and looked to his youngest daughter, "Not quite yet. Hinata isn't truly the baby's mother." In a hushed undertone to the two ninja next to him he added, "But this might complicate things for the future."

"Even if we have to spend the rest of our lives 'dating' it won't matter to us. We'll be happy as long as we're together, Hiashi-san." Naruto said his voice equally quiet, Hinata nodding in agreement. The rest of the gathering slowly got back to the party, but every now and then someone would glance over at Hinata or Naruto.

The older man shrugged, "I know, and that's why I hope we can find some means to make this easy for the two of you. Fortunately it won't be an issue for some time, conventionally it wouldn't be proper for you to be married for at least another 4 months or so."

Grinning broadly the blonde man looked over at the woman he loved, "Well, I'm certainly not going anywhere."

"Me neither." She smiled back.

One of the younger members of the Hyuuga clan, a boy of about 8 or 9 approached the table. Behind him were a couple other kids. He looked sheepishly at the ground, sneaking glances up at Naruto every now and then. After a couple seconds of this he finally spoke up, "Uzumaki-sama?"

Naruto smiled down at the boy, "What can I do for you?"

"We were wondering if you would show us some of your jutsu," at this point several of the adults were listening in too. They all looked eager to hear his answer.

"Well, I don't see why not. Hiashi-san?" He looked over at the head of the household.

"Please, be my guest." The older man gave his permission.

Standing, Naruto walked around the table and to an open spot in the courtyard. He noted that most of the adults were now watching him closely.

Squatting down so he was at eye level with the boy he asked, "What did you want to see?"

"Someone at school said you could spit knives from your mouth, is that true?"

"Sort of, they aren't knives like kunai. But they can be far more dangerous." Turning to his friends he scanned the table quickly, his eyes settled on Kiba, "Yo, dog boy. Give me a target."

"Why did you pick me? Why not Sasuke?" The Inuzuka man whined waving a hand at the Uchiha a few seats away.

"You're the only one besides me that uses a Shadow Clone, you tried to hit me at the festival, and if Sasuke and I got into it here things might not turn out so hot. I need a target, not an opponent." Naruto grinned.

Muttering under his breath Kiba did as he was asked, crossing his fingers and summoning a clone. It walked to stand across from the blonde man. Naruto quickly formed a string of hand signs and took a step forward, leaning into it. He cupped his right hand over his mouth.

"Wind Style: Dagger Storm!" A quick spray of semi-transparent blades slammed into the clone, throwing it off its feet. The boy clapped his hands and the rest of the Hyuugas joined shortly.

"What about the Rasengan?" The boy asked.

"That's a special one, watch closely." Naruto held out his palm, the boy focused on it. "I've been practicing this for a while, but it may not be perfect."

A swirling blue glow started in the middle of his hand, it soon formed a swirling sphere of chakra. As the audience watched it separated into five smaller spheres, each one migrating to the tip of a finger. They all drifted back to the middle and formed one large sphere again.

"Now the fun part." Naruto raised the hand over his head and poured more chakra into the jutsu. The Rasengan swelled in size growing larger and larger. Soon it was twice the size of the biggest Big Ball Rasengan he had ever made. In a flash he shrank it back down and closed his fist around it, opening his hand to show it empty.

"I didn't know you had that much control over it," Shikamaru commented.

"It took a while, but you know how I am. I don't stop training to be my best, just like Neji wouldn't."

After his display the party soon turned into something of a talent show. The Hyuugas, especially the children, were intensely curious as to the skills of the Konoha 12. One after another the shinobi would show off their signature style, often asking Naruto for a Shadow Clone to pummel. In one particularly popular display the members of the old Team 10 displayed a couple of their Ino-Shika-Cho formations. Some of the older Hyuugas remembered the concept but the three Jonin had designed their own combinations.

Soon it was well into the night, most of the children had been taken to bed by their mothers and everyone was looking ready to follow them. One by one the other members of the Hyuuga clan took their leave, it wasn't long before the only ones in the yard were the Konoha 12, Guy, and Hiashi.

"I think Neji would've enjoyed that," Naruto commented as he placed a sleeping Nami in her basket.

"Indeed, he would have been happy seeing the Hyuugas acting as one clan." Lee said enthusiastically.

"I agree, I'm glad that the line between the branches is fading," Tenten added.

"Well, I think it's time for us to take our leave." Guy told them, they all nodded and rose from their seats.

"Do you want any help with the clean up?" Shikamaru asked.

"I think we can manage, thank you." Hiashi answered. "And thank all of you for being friends with Neji, I know he was proud to be one of you."

"It was our pleasure Hiashi-san. He made all of us better shinobi, and we were proud to know him." Naruto spoke for the group.

The group took to the streets and started to go their separate ways. Soon only Hiashi, Naruto, and Hinata remained. The blonde man kissed the heiress lightly on the lips then on the temple.

"I love you." He whispered to her.

"I love you, too." She whispered back.

He held her to him for a moment and then stepped over to her father, "Good night Hiashi-san," he extended a hand to shake.

The older man shook it, "Good night."

Naruto turned as if walking away and with the first step teleported to his house.


	18. The Anniversary

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry about the wait. I got a bit distracted lately, but here's an extra long awesome filled chapter to make up for it. I have some stuff coming up soon that make take up a lot of my time too, I'll try to get back to regular updates with some longer chapters but no promises. If I get too far out of it I'll make sure to make up for it.**

-Hinata-

Hanabi's giggling scream echoed down the street. Naruto had her on his back and was sprinting full tilt down the busy avenue. Hinata smiled, she loved watching those two together. Ever since the end of the war Naruto had started visiting the Hyuuga compound, at first just to pick up or drop off Hinata. Later as her father had warmed up to Naruto he had invited the blonde to dinner.

It had been a small affair, just the four of them, but it was the first time Hanabi had met Naruto up close. Her younger sister had surprised Hinata by being polite – even nice – to him. The young Hyuuga had spent a lot of time with Neji and apparently he had told her a lot about Naruto. She was eager to get to know him and it didn't take long for them to become friends. In just a short couple of weeks she started calling him her big brother and he always treated her like a younger sister.

Hinata adjusted Nami in her arms and sped up slightly so she wouldn't lose sight of them. Even if she did there was no way she would lose track of that laugh, _his_ laugh. The laugh that had been absent for so long after the tragedies of war. She was grateful to Hanabi, for the young girl had helped him almost as much as he had helped her.

Everyone around them looked at peace, some were trying to look happy and others were trying to hide their sorrow. Today was considered a day of celebration, one year ago today Naruto had defeated Obito and won the war. It had been decided that this day and the two days before it would be spent commemorating the war. Two days were spent mourning the losses of all those that had died on those days. The final day, today, was to be spent in celebration of victory.

It had been hard on everyone for the past two days, no one laughed, few smiled, and there were tears in everyone's eyes. Hinata, Naruto, and their friends had spent most of their time in the graveyard, sitting around Neji's grave and talking to him. They had all paid their due respects to Inoichi and Shikaku too, who had died when the Alliance's HQ was attacked. Hopefully today would bring cheer to some though.

Shinobi from all five villages had come to celebrate, this year the main events would take place in Konoha. In future years that honor would pass to the other villages. Those who couldn't make it would still have their own celebrations, but the Leaf would be the center of festivities. Already there were stalls, booths, and tents lining almost every street.

Hinata shook her head slightly as she realized they had arrived at their destination, the Hokage's building. Naruto stood outside, mercilessly tickling a half crying and half laughing Hanabi. When he saw his girlfriend watching him he stopped, grinned, then dashed inside to see what Tsunade had called him here for.

The sisters waited outside, playing with Nami and idly watching people go this way and that. There were a surprising amount of ninja, dressed in the styles of their home villages and they were all headed the same way. To the large stadium that hosted the finals of the Chunin Exams. If Naruto didn't hurry up they would be late to the big show.

Just then said blonde trouble maker came out of the building, looking slightly flustered. He reached behind his back under his cloak and Hinata saw a flash of white. Putting that aside she looked back at his face, "Everything okay?"

"Huh? Yeah, it's nothing. We should go, we can't be late when we're hosting the party." He grinned and reached his hands out for both girls.

When they both took one of his hands they started down the street. A lot of the ninja that saw them called out to them. They waved to those they recognized and nodded to those paying respects. It was strange, she had expected them to be like this for Naruto but some of them were calling her name as well. The 12 had been quite glorified after the war, the way some of the stories were told made it seem like they were their own army with Naruto as their leader and in some ways it was true.

The three of them made it to the stadium within a few minutes, Naruto hesitated at the main entrance.

"Hanabi, can you take Nami and join your father in the stands?" When the girl nodded and took the child from Hinata he turned to his love. "Hinata go on and wait with the others, there's been a slight change of plans, I'm going up to the Kage's platform right now." He looked nervous.

"Is something wrong? Naruto?" She was starting to get worried, she placed one of her hands on his cheek and searched his eyes.

"Don't worry about it, there isn't any problem. At least not yet." He chuckled halfheartedly, "Kiss for luck?" He bent down and took her lips.

Hanabi made a disgusted sound next to them but she was smiling. When they broke apart she quickly gave her brother a peck on the cheek. The three of them entered the stadium, Hanabi headed to the stands, Naruto moving for the platform situated above the arena, and Hinata making her way to an area just off the main seating where the rest of their friends waited for her.

"Hey Hinata." Sakura called as she approached the group.

"Where's Naruto?" Kiba asked.

"He said something about a change of plans, he's going up to the Kage platform first. I think we go up there as planned later, but beyond that..." She trailed off.

"What's that Dobe up to?" Sasuke murmured looking vaguely in the direction they were talking about.

"It can't be anything serious," Shikamaru reasoned, "He would have at least warned us if not come to get us. Let's just wait and see."

They waited in contemplative silence for a while, but that was interrupted when a very familiar voice boomed out over the stadium, quieting the chatter. Then it said something that had them all in shock, but grinning like fools.

-Naruto-

After separating from his three favorite girls Naruto moved quickly to the platform over the arena. During a Chunin exam or other festivities visiting Kage or Feudal Lords would sit up here with the Hokage to watch. He was greeted by some very familiar faces.

"Hey guys, great to see you all." He smiled and moved to greet them all individually. If they had been able to the Kages themselves would've come, but since having all five together at once wasn't safe and they couldn't leave their villages they had sent representatives.

"Temari," Naruto's greeting was simple, of everyone here he saw her the most. Turning to her young companion he couldn't help the widening of his grin, "Matsuri, it's been a while, you were on a mission when I was in Suna last." Gaara's first student smiled at him, then launched at him with a hug.

"Hi Naruto-sensei," she said shyly pulling away.

"I wanted to make sure I thanked you," at her confused expression he continued. "Thank you for being brave enough to choose Gaara as your sensei. I may have started his healing, but you guaranteed it." He patted her head slightly and moved on to the next small group.

"Yo, Naruto." Killer Bee extended a fist. Naruto placed his knuckles against it. When they and their Bijuu finished their own personal greetings he retracted it.

"Omui, Karui, how have you been?" Turning to the older man's companions, he shook hands with both of the darker skinned shinobi.

"We've been great. Hey, where's Lady Tsunade? We figured you would come, but not until later." The male asked.

"I'll explain in a minute, I have to address the audience for that one." He chuckled when eyebrows shot up all around him, "It's nothing bad, it's actually quite cool, ya know." He silently cursed his mother for giving him the gene that made him say that when he was excited.

Moving on Naruto was greeted by a tall man and his slightly shorter sister. "Hey Minion." The woman said, somehow making the demeaning word sound respectful.

"Kurotsuchi, Akatsuchi." He shook their hands, "How's your dad?"

"He's fine, Gramps too." She leaned forward a bit, a small flush creeping up her face, "Look, I am sorry about thinking you were just a messenger back on that island, and later thinking we should kill you." Her voice was barely a whisper and she was studying her sandals.

Naruto placed a hand on her arm and used his other to lightly tap her chin so she would look at him. "Stop apologizing, every time I see you you're apologizing. It was a long time ago I've already forgiven you, Kurotsuchi." He grinned widely and when she returned a small smile he moved on.

"Chojuro, I may not know you as well as the others, but it is good I'm not here with complete strangers." He shook hands with the young man. "Alright, if you all agree I think it's time to start this party." At their nods he turned and walked to the railing, gazing out at all of the people gathered in the stands he swallowed hard. For the most part only shinobi were gathered due to the amount of them and the nature of this part of the celebrations.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself Naruto raised his voice, "Shinobi!" He said the word with as much command as he could. The whole stadium was silent as all eyes turned to him. He could feel their confusion, "Lady Hokage has...an important matter to attend to. One that requires her to step aside temporarily." He could sense the change in attitude, there was some fear and a little apprehension, but mostly it seemed as if everyone was excited. He had to fight not to grin on his next words, "For the time being I will be assuming her duties as her substitute."

The entire stadium erupted in roaring cheers and applause. There were shouts of "Rokudaime!", "Wind Fang!", and "Naruto!". He couldn't help it anymore, the widest grin he'd worn in a long time split his face nearly in two. After a few moments he raised a hand to silence them, it took a minute or two.

"This is temporary and hopefully Lady Tsunade will be fit for duty soon, I was hoping to at least be married before I was Hokage." There were chuckles throughout the stadium. "However I am glad that I have the honor to preside over today's events. Not to mention, a day as Hokage is a pretty sweet birthday present." More applause, laughs, and scattered birthday wishes.

Turning to look at his companions on the platform he nodded, and got serious. "Okay, I think it's time we began." In an instant his friends flanked him, directly to his left was Shikamaru and to his right was Hinata. The others spread out beyond them, the eleven of them stood united at the railing. "Shinobi, I would ask that you change your headbands now." Every hand in the stadium removed their village symbols, "Today, there are no Sand shinobi, no Mist shinobi, no Stone shinobi, no Cloud shinobi, and no Leaf shinobi." Naruto removed his own headband.

He swapped it with the one in his pocket, as did everyone else. "Today we are once again, Shinobi of the Allied Shinobi Forces." As one the crowd tied on their headbands, each one was inscribed with the kanji for 'shinobi'. When he was satisfied that most people were done, Naruto reached behind his back and removed what Grandma Tsunade had given him. In one fluid motion, he slipped on the white hat. It was oval shaped and written on the brim was 'fire' in kanji.

The crowd was deafening, even those on the platform with him were shouting. He felt Hinata's hand slip into his, and Shikamaru's hand on his shoulder. As the last of the cheering waned he started the hardest part of this ceremony, "Today represents a joyful day in the history of our villages. One year ago today we fought as one and defeated a threat to this world that none of us could have hoped to fight alone." He raised a hand to stop the protesting he knew would be incoming, after all he had fought Obito alone and won.

"I may have fought the last part of the battle on my own, but the war would have been impossible. We stand here today as survivors, as victors but there are many who no longer stand with us. Of the 80,000 of us that went to war...a mere 30,000 came home." It was a sobering fact, even more so knowing that their original number had been cut in half on the first day. "I wish I had time to name them all, unfortunately I don't. If you don't mind though, I would like to name some of our comrades." A resounding cheer was his answer.

"Among the fallen are Inoichi Yamanaka of the Leaf," he looked over at Ino sending her all the support he could. "Ao of the Mist." Chojuro shook his head sadly. "Shikaku Nara of the Leaf," Naruto reached out his left hand to squeeze Shikamaru's shoulder. He continued like this for a time, naming over a hundred men and women who had died heroes. When he paused his friends knew what was coming, every one of them pulled closer together and Hinata pressed against his side, "And Neji Hyuuga of the Leaf."

The stadium was silent. They watched as the eleven young adults that were considered the future of Konoha held each other for a moment. A lot of the gathered shinobi from other villages had asked at one point or another 'Why are they called the 12? There's clearly only 11 of them.' They all received the same answer, these kids had lost one of their closest friends in the war. Everyone felt for them.

"Today is not a day of mourning." Naruto continued, his friends resumed their posts at his side. "Today we will celebrate the freedom that their sacrifices bought us. Today we will eat, drink, and honor those who came before." More cheering, "The first thing we will do is a handful of battles, all of you had a chance to enter your votes for what fights you wanted to see. Depending on their length hopefully we'll see a lot of good ones. If the battles do not interest you please feel free to enjoy the festivities the village has outside."

He smiled, a change in air pressure behind him alerted him to a new presence joining them. He turned to see who it was, "Ah, Genma. I was hoping you would take the cue."

Smiling broadly around the senbon in his mouth the older man smiled, "Hokage-sama." He said it playfully but there was a hint of respect there as well.

"Even when I am the real Hokage, please count yourself among those who still use my name."

Laughing, Genma held out a folder piece of paper, "The results."

Naruto opened it and burst into laughter as well, "I really should have expected that, thanks." Ignoring his friend's odd looks he turned back to face the stadium. "These are the ten most voted for battles," he held the paper up to show the crowd. "I'm supposed to fight in every single one of them." His friend's laughter joined his own, the masses were cheering though.

When they had calmed down Naruto looked at his friends with a smirk. "The first battle: Wind Fang vs Konoha 12. No Bijuu, no Sage." The crowd began muttering in anticipation. Naruto's ten closest friends in the world looked way too excited for his liking. They all jumped the railing as one and took up positions around the field. Before joining them he teleported to where Hanabi and Nami were sitting using the formula he had marked Hanabi with.

"Hey Sis," he said ruffling the young Hyuuga's hair. "Hold this for me will you?" Lifting the hat from his head he slipped it on her's. Tilting it back briefly he kissed her forehead, then did the same to the baby in her arms. "Back in a flash." Naruto was instantly standing next to Hinata.

"Did you mark me Naruto Uzumaki?" She asked feigning anger.

"Of course I did," he kissed her neck lightly then whispered into it, "You are mine after all." He chuckled at her blush then moved to face his friends. "One on ten huh? I'll try to go easy on you guys." He slipped his hands behind his back and grasped the hilts of his knives. His friends dropped into their own ready stances.

"Like you could even touch us without Bijuu or Sage Mode," Choji taunted.

"I look forward to your destruction, Naruto." Lee joined in.

"I hope you're ready for this," Kiba added.

"Should I tell them to prepare a room at the hospital Naruto?" Sakura jibed.

Naruto scrunched his face up like he was thinking, "I guess you could. I don't know how all ten of you, eleven if you include Akamaru, are going to fit in just one room." There were scattered chuckles from the audience.

Freeing his blades from their sheaths Naruto dropped into the Gentle Fist stance, however instead of open palms he displayed two razor sharp daggers. The blades curved out from the outside of his palms.

"That's not how I taught you to use those," Tenten said in exasperation.

Hinata perked up, pride evident on her face. "Did you finish it? Did you finally do it?"

"Hinata, what are you talking about?" Shino inquired.

"She means the style that I developed myself to use with these blades. I discovered that I quite liked them, so I needed a way to fight with them. Tenten, no offense but the style you use for twin daggers didn't really fit me. You know me, I always do things my way. And yeah babe, I did it." Naruto grinned.

"You developed your own fighting style?" Sasuke sneered, unlike Hinata his pride for Naruto resided in his eyes.

"The Uzumaki Blade." Shikamaru spoke up, a soft smile on his face, "When you asked me about parts of it you still seemed very far off."

"I wanted it to be a surprise. Anyway I think that's enough talking, these people are here for a fight. Whenever you're ready." His blades lit up with blue chakra.

After a couple seconds of silent looks at each other eight of the Jonin charged their friend, Shikamaru and Ino held back to watch for an opening. The others drifted together into a jagged line intending on hitting him one right after the other. The first to reach him was Lee.

"Leaf Hurricane!" The kick was aimed high and it was fast. Naruto switched into another stance and deflected the kick easily. "Hey!" Lee had recognized the move, it was one of his own. The blonde man chuckled.

"My style uses more than just Gentle Fist, Lee." He spoke calmly while slipping back into his original stance and using the grace and fluidity to move around Kiba and Akamaru's Fang Over Fang and giving them a light tap as they passed. Changing his stance again Naruto met Sasuke head on, deflecting his friend's sword and landing a glancing punch. Moving forward again Naruto slid on his knees to avoid a swipe from Choji's expanded arm reaching up to punch it lightly.

Standing again he was met with a wall of bugs. He jumped and executed a mid-air spin that was a combination of the Leaf Hurricane and the Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation. Blade and foot scattered the insects, landing in front of their master Naruto landed a few quick jabs and turned for his next opponent. He didn't have time to wait for the rest of the line to get to him because those behind him were coming back around.

Sakura's super-powered punch was aimed directly at his face, he leaned back and spun into her. He could feel the air as her fist passed within an inch of his jaw. One solid punch to her ribs and he was off. Next to reach him was Tenten, he deflected her thrown weaponry and feinted with a Leaf Hurricane. When she set herself and raised her arms to block he switched back into Gentle Fist and slipped a few punches under her high guard.

When Hinata came at him he simply teleported to her and ran right by, "Sorry, not this time Hinata." He had his eyes set on Ino. She and Shikamaru were both preparing for their jutsu, "Don't bother, I already won this fight." He poured on the speed and when Ino framed him with her hands he feinted left and instead of heading right continued straight ahead. As he had hoped her hands drifted ever so slightly that direction and the shadow that had been moving to intercept darted in the opposite direction looking to trap him.

With a flick of the wrist he threw one knife into an unoccupied portion of the arena and the other straight at Shikamaru's feet. Continuing on his path Naruto ducked under Ino's hands punched her once and vanished. He appeared in front of Shikamaru and landed a blow on the man's thigh as he picked up the thrown blade. Teleporting to his other knife Naruto bent to pick it up calmly.

"I win," he said easily.

Shikamaru laughed, "I suppose you do. Very nicely done Naruto." The confused faces of the crowd were mimicked by the fighters.

"What do you mean Shika?" Choji asked his teammate.

"Watch, Lee go after Naruto."

Lee obliged and charged him. Naruto made of show of slowly sheathing his blades. Just as Lee's foot was going to hit him he was suddenly standing behind Sasuke. The raven haired man turned and swung his sword at Naruto. Again he teleported and was now hugging Hinata, his face buried in her neck. She tried to stop it but a giggle broke from her mouth.

"He marked each and every one of us for the Flying Raijin. The Uzumaki Blade style takes the grace of the Gentle First and combines it with the speed and power of Guy-sensei's style. Not to mention the consideration of the blades which would involve Tenten's style, and then Naruto's own flairs. That plus the knowledge he has of all of us means we stand no chance against him." Shikamaru explained. The crowd started clapping, slow at first but as people realized what the genius had said it grew quickly.

The moment was shattered by a girl's terrified scream, "**BROTHER!**"

Naruto's head whipped up to the sound, "Hanabi!"

-Hinata-

Her sister's scream for Naruto was painful to hear. It was full of fear and need. Since he was still holding her Hinata was taken with him when he teleported to Hanabi. The younger Hyuuga was slumped in her chair looking scared out of her mind.

"Sakura get up here!" Naruto shouted back to the arena. Hinata held her sister to her chest. She could feel breathing but it seemed weak.

In a moment all of their friends stood by their side. Naruto moved aside to allow Sakura to check the girl out. "She's been weakened by some kind of jutsu. She'll be fine but it will take some healing." A green glow emanated from the pinkette's hands as she stroked Hanabi's back.

The girl's eyes sought Naruto, "B-Brother, he took her. I saw him but then everything went black, I was screaming but I wasn't making any noise. H-he took N-Nami." Tears fell from her eyes, "I'm s-sorry."

Naruto crouched next to the three and stroked her hair, "It's not your fault, little sister. We'll get Nami back, you know that. Where is your father? He was supposed to be here with you."

"Clan business." Was all she could say before dozing slightly.

The two large doors that led to the arena's floor from the outside opened and five men strolled in, all of them looking smug.

"Where is the one called Uzumaki?" One of them asked, he was at the head of the group. His clothes were clearly ninja gear but they looked ragged. "We've got your little girl, and if you don't do exactly as we say she'll never wake up from her nap." The five laughed.

Shinobi all around the stadium prepared to jump down there and tear these men limb from limb. Naruto stood and shouted, "Shinobi! Stand down!" Everyone looked at him in surprise, but obeyed. "Stay here." He said to his friends.

Jumping back into the arena Naruto walked until he stood in front of the men. "I am Naruto Uzumaki. Where is my daughter?" His voice was pure ice. The leader flinched slightly.

"Somewhere you'll never find her." He chuckled, "We've got you by the balls. You will do exactly as we say or she dies. Now it's time for you to stand there and die like a good demon. Then we'll take care of your pathetic village."

Naruto slowly reached behind him and summoned a marked kunai. He held it with two fingers, its point perpendicular to the ground. The stadium was silent, all eyes on the six men on the ground. "You have until this kunai hits the ground to surrender. If you do not, I will kill each and everyone of you."

"And then our men will kill your daughter. You won't do anything." The men laughed again.

Silently Naruto dropped the kunai. Thousands of eyes tracked the knife, only two bright blue ones didn't. It seemed to hang in the air but then it fell to the ground. The instant the blade hit the ground Naruto was gone. The men in the middle were surprised at first but then laughed all the louder.

"Did you see that?" The leader asked the crowd. "Your great hero, that demon ran like a coward." The gathered shinobi began to murmur, not sure what they should do.

Hinata looked to Sasuke with questioning eyes, she didn't doubt Naruto but she wasn't sure what he was doing. The raven haired man shrugged but had a small smile on his face. Just then a familiar red clad figure appeared next to Hinata a blood covered bundle in his arms, he was soaked in blood as well.

His voice was hard but relieved as he handed Nami to her, "I think she's fine but have Sakura check her out." Reaching over he grabbed the hat off of Hanabi's head, "I'm going to need this back Sis, thanks for keeping it warm." He was gone again, but then he was standing in the arena over the kunai he had dropped not five minutes ago. In one motion the Hokage's hat was on his head again.

Drawing his blood covered blades again Naruto slowly moved towards the men in front of him. "Twenty men?! You thought twenty men could stop me?!" The blades were a flash of red and silver as he spun them. "You just made a huge mistake. You wanted me, alright you can have me. You can have the wrath of a Father, a Brother, and a Hokage. **No one threatens my family!**"

-Naruto-

It happened so fast that most people missed it. Naruto charged the five men and in a whirl of blades they all dropped dead. Naruto stowed his blades and looked around him, he took a second to let his anger die and then started to do what needed to be done.

"Genma, Sai, Ibiki, Kakashi, Guy, Ebisu, Shikamaru." He called the names of the people he needed, the tone of his voice making his order clear. All seven men appeared in front of him, aware that this Naruto was the Hokage right now.

"Genma, take Raido and Iwashi and alert Lady Tsunade to this, don't interrupt her. I think we've got it covered, but she needs to know." Genma nodded and left to carry out the orders.

"Sai, about 10 miles west of town there should be a cabin, inside you'll find the rest of these scum. There should be two or three survivors, stabilize them then check the area for any other activity and find out what you can. Take as long as you need, but I want those survivors for information." The pale man in an ANBU mask nodded and vanished.

"Ibiki, send a couple of the other ANBU squads to watch the gates. Anyone suspicious gets stopped, you stay here though." Ibiki nodded his scarred head and turned to the side, one of his men appeared there to receive the orders.

"Kakashi, Guy, Ebisu, take your teams and scour the village. Stay hidden but check for any signs of anything out of place. If you feel you need anyone else to supplement your teams take them." The three men nodded and went to round up their shinobi.

Naruto looked around at the crowd, they were watching him. Not in fear of how merciless he had been, but in awe of how easily he had taken command. "I am sorry that this matter has interfered with our celebration. Please, go enjoy the festival. This is a matter for the Hidden Leaf, if it in any way affects or endangers you we will alert you. Leaf Shinobi, orange for two hours, green after that unless you are told otherwise." The last part was to let his fellow Leaf ninja to stay on moderate alert for a little while.

As people started filing out of the stadium Naruto gestured the two men still with him to follow him. With quick steps and some simple chakra manipulation they were back on the Kage platform. The representatives had stayed as he was hoping they would. Turning first to Shikamaru he asked, "Impressions?"

The strategist shook his head slightly his brow furrowed, "You really didn't give me much time to analyze them. From the look of the ones down there it could be them."

Naruto turned to Ibiki for a second opinion, "I agree, it's hard to tell but the timing and motive seem right." The older man said.

The blonde man sighed and then turned to the other people on the platform. They looked so confused it was almost funny. "You know about the man with two thousand golems that attacked us a few months back?" They all nodded, it had been a popular story in all five villages. "We interrogated him and when Ibiki finally broke him he just kept screaming how I was a demon and that he was only the first. I never thought they'd be stupid enough to try something today of all days."

Shikamaru laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder, "Not the best birthday ever."

With a soft smile Naruto said, "Better than last year."

"So what are you going to do?" Temari asked. She had moved to stand next to Shikamaru.

"Not much we can do," Naruto leaned back against the railing. "I've followed standard procedure, if it turns something up good, if not then we'll have to see what our new prisoners have to say."

"That was cool how you took command Naruto-sensei." Matsuri said, half-hiding behind Temari.

"Thanks Matsuri, I just went with it." He shrugged, "You guys feel free to join the festival like the rest, I'll make sure to alert you immediately of any development that may affect your villages. Right now this just affects me and my village"

"All of our villages are your village too, Naruto." Omui spoke up, "You are technically a shinobi in each of them."

"True, but for the moment I'm the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf. Konoha takes priority," he grinned.

The others returned his smile and took their leave. Ibiki said something about preparing for the prisoners and left as well a creepy look on his face. Soon it was just Naruto, Shikamaru, Temari, and Matsuri.

"The hat looks good on you Naruto," Temari commented in her disinterested voice.

"Thanks, it's strange but it feels natural to wear it. Granny might have to fight me to get it back." He gave them one more smile, "If you'll excuse me, I need to go check on Hanabi and Nami."

He was on the other side of the stadium in an instant. Hanabi was still sitting in the same place but she looked better, and Hinata had moved a bit to make sure Nami was comfortable. Some of their friends were still here, but Sasuke and Sakura had gone with Kakashi's team. It appeared that Lee and Tenten had chosen to go with Guy's team as well.

"How are they?" Naruto asked Hinata.

"Sakura said they'll both be fine with some rest." Her lavender eyes stayed glued to Nami. The child was sleeping peacefully. Naruto still had a hard time believing how big she was getting.

"Let's take them home then." Turning to Kiba, Choji, and Shino he asked, "Can you guys let people know that I'll be at the Hyuuga compound for a time, then the Hokage's office." At their nods he lifted Hanabi onto his back.

"I think I can wait a little longer for Grandma to retire." Naruto said to laughter from his friends.


	19. The Surprise

**A/N: I don't know why this chapter ended up being so long winded, but hey you guys like the longer chapters. I figured if I didn't release this chapter today it would be weird that I skipped the day in question.**

-Naruto-

Naruto sighed and leaned back on the couch. If he let himself he would drift off, able to forget the events of the day. He was honestly giving some thought to doing so when he became aware of someone entering the room.

"Naruto-san, you look...comfortable." There was a small smile on Hiashi Hyuuga's face.

The blonde man looked down at himself. On his left he had his arm wrapped around Hinata who was leaning against his chest and sleeping soundly with Nami held carefully in her arms. To his right Hanabi was curled into a tight ball, sleeping with her head in his lap. His right hand absently stroking her hair.

"They were all pretty tired after what happened at the stadium and I can't blame them, I would like nothing more than to join them. Unfortunately, I have to go soon." Naruto cringed inwardly remembering what had happened only an hour ago, "Those bastards." This last part was a whisper filled with rage.

"I heard about what happened and I do apologize. I was supposed to be there with Hanabi, a matter of import came up and I was called away. I hope you can forgive me." The older man bowed slightly.

"It's fine, Hiashi-san. I won't blame you for things you couldn't control. I could easily have taken Nami with me up to the Kage platform and left her with Octopops or Temari. The only ones at fault here are the ones who took my daughter and hurt my sister." He had to work hard not to raise his voice above the hushed tone they were using. Smiling softly he asked, "Could you help me? I'd rather not wake them."

A few minutes of silent and careful movement saw the two men standing together a few feet from the couch, all three of its occupants still sleeping. Looking Naruto up and down briefly Hiashi chuckled slightly.

"New look?" He gestured at his blonde companion.

It took Naruto a second to understand the question. He glanced down and then smiled sheepishly, "My clothes were soaked in blood, this was the only battle ready ninja gear in my size here. It's a bit strange not wearing orange, but this feels right. It may be time for a wardrobe change."

His usual orange track suit had been so thoroughly blood covered that he wasn't going to be able to salvage it. Instead he wore the traditional black ANBU uniform minus the mask, the gray flak vest, and the arm guards. With his own newly cleaned flak vest on top and his cloak over that he looked far more intimidating than he ever had in orange.

"I think it suits you. Mind you, I don't think you would last long in ANBU. But the orange spoke of a person who you are not anymore. Someone who needed to be seen. Now you look the part of a leader and a formidable shinobi." Hiashi laid a hand on the young man's shoulder.

Naruto smiled, "You're probably right, there's only one small problem." The Hyuuga leader's brow furrowed. Naruto reached behind his back and slipped the Hokage's hat onto his head, "It doesn't really match the hat." The two men stared at each other seriously for a moment before they both began laughing.

When he could finally muster a straight face Naruto looked out of a window, "I need to be going now, they'll need me in the Hokage's office for the next little while. I'm in charge until Grandma Tsunade returns, so I need to be there to receive the reports from the teams I sent out."

"I hear you were quite impressive out there, not only in the fight but in handling the situation that arose afterward. Some say you were born for the title of Hokage."

Naruto shrugged, "I had good teachers and great support," his eyes drifted to the couch where Hinata was sleeping. "I'm going to order a couple ANBU guards for Nami and Hinata. They'll stay off the property unless they are needed, but I'd feel better if those two were safe." Hiashi nodded his agreement. "Also if they wake before I get back, tell Hanabi that we should do some training tomorrow. My Gentle Fist forms still need a little work." The two men shook hands and the blonde one vanished.

As the office of the village leader took form around him, Naruto was already calling on two of the ANBU guards that he knew were never too far. He gave them the orders to watch over the woman he loved and his daughter. They had just left when a knock on the door drew his attention.

"Enter," he called moving to sit down in the chair behind the desk.

Genma walked into the office, flanked by the other two Jonin that Naruto had sent to inform Granny of the incident. "Naruto." He said simply as the three of them stood at attention in front of the desk.

"Hey Genma, anything I should know?" The young man's face grew apprehensive at the seriousness of theirs.

"Not really," Genma's whole image changed. He was now relaxed with a smile on his face, "Lady Tsunade compliments you on your quick actions and says she will be back before sundown."

Naruto sighed and leaned back in his chair, "Don't do that to me. I thought she was gonna break through the door and punch me out of a window." He chuckled lightly, "Thank you for the report, give me a shout if anything else comes up."

The three men turned to leave, at the door Genma stopped, "You look a lot like your father Naruto. Minato-sama looked just at home in that chair as you do." A quick smile and he was gone.

Naruto didn't have time to fully appreciate the compliment when another, larger group began filing in. They lined up in front of the desk in two rows all standing at attention. In the front were the Jonin: Kakashi, Guy, Ebisu, Sasuke, Sakura, Tenten, and Lee. Behind them stood the nine Chunin that were assigned to the three eldest Jonin, of them he only recognized Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon. All three of the Chunin had wide grins.

"Did you find anything out of place?" Naruto addressed Kakashi who was standing in the middle of the front line. Out of restlessness he stood and moved around to the front of the desk, leaning back against it with his arms crossed.

"Nothing. It seems only the five you killed in the stadium were inside the village. We figure one of the others grabbed Nami and then went straight to the cabin you found them in." The silver-haired man reported.

Naruto nodded, it made sense. He hadn't thought there would be any activity inside the village, but it was better to check. "Thank you, if there's nothing else you're dismissed. Please, go enjoy the festival."

Kakashi, Guy, and their Chunin left. Ebisu waited at the door because his team hadn't moved an inch. As one they ran forward to Naruto, "Big Brother Hokage." Naruto couldn't help but laugh.

"You three are ridiculous." He put his hands on Konohamaru and Udon's heads, ruffling their hair. Moegi had him in a tight hug about the waist. "It's only temporary, Grandma Tsunade will be back to work by tonight."

"You still got to be Hokage though," Konohamaru pouted slightly. "Just remember, I'm next."

"If you earn it," Naruto feigned superiority, then chuckled. "I know you will, now get out of here. Go check out the festival." He pushed the three of them lightly towards their sensei and the door. Reluctantly they left, closing the door behind them.

Sakura, Tenten, and Lee sank into the room's only couch and Sasuke stood by the window looking out at Konoha. "How are Hinata and the girls?" Sakura asked.

"They're fine, they were all pretty exhausted. I stationed a couple guards nearby just in case, but I don't think they could be any safer than in the heart of the Hyuuga compound." Naruto resumed his seat behind the desk.

"How did you know where to find them?" Tenten asked.

"I marked Nami almost as soon as I finished learning the Flying Raijin, I knew something like this might come up eventually. When he said they had her it was child's play to go to her."

"And you could tell distance from the chakra it took to get there and direction from your surroundings while you were there." Sasuke commented.

"You never cease to amaze me with your growth Naruto. Just a little over a year ago you had only barely conquered Sage mode, now you could probably beat any one of the Kages. They say you're Kage-level, but I'm not sure that covers it." Awe was evident in Sakura's voice.

"I MUST TRAIN EVEN HARDER!" Lee exclaimed jumping to his feet. Tenten grabbed the back of his vest and made him sit back down.

"Thank you Sakura, but I'm sure there is still tons for me to learn." Naruto leaned back in the chair, taking the Hokage hat off and placing it on the desk. "I've only scratched the surface of my father's jutsus, not to mention the Uzumaki clan's sealing jutsus. Granny sent all of the recovered scrolls and stuff from Uzushiogakure. My clan had a lot of stuff." Turning to his silent friend at the window he asked, "Are you still in contact with Karin? I'd like to give her an opportunity to see some of our shared heritage."

"I haven't talked to those three much, but I'll send word to her that you are interested. She was quite happy to have met you, I think you're the first cousin she's ever had." Sasuke's eyes never left the view.

"I know the feeling, she's the first direct blood relative that I've ever had. I'm kind of related to Grandma Tsunade, but I don't know if there's a direct blood connection. I definitely want to talk to Karin some more before I decide if I should re-establish the Uzumaki clan. I'd also like to track down some of the other remaining Uzumakis but apparently they were pretty scattered after the Third Great Shinobi War."

"You're Hokage now, why not send out some teams to look for them?" Lee asked like it was an obvious solution.

"I won't be Hokage for more than a day, besides Granny has already been asking around. If they're out there they are doing a damn good job of hiding. We're hoping that with my name as well known as it is my relatives will come looking, but who knows how long that could take."

Another knock on the door ended the conversation, without waiting for permission Ibiki and Sai entered. They both stood with legs straight and hands behind their backs at the desk. Ibiki looked at the room's other occupants.

"Sakura, Tenten, Lee I hate to do this, but could you excuse us for a moment?" Naruto looked at them apologetically and he hoped they knew he would tell them if it was anything important. The three of them nodded and walked out. Ibiki's eyes rested on Sasuke's back.

"Have you made your decision Uchiha?" The scarred man asked.

Turning to him and then back to Naruto, Sasuke answered, "I have, I will be rejoining the regular shinobi corps. My time in ANBU has served it's purpose." The blonde man's grin forced a smile from the stoic Uchiha.

"Then I have to ask that you leave as well," Ibiki said. At Naruto's shrug Sasuke nodded and left the room as well.

"Ok, what's so important that some of our highest ranking Jonin can't hear it?"

Sai started, "Naruto, we recovered all of the bodies that you left behind as well as the three survivors. You should know that they were all shinobi, not more than Chunin but shinobi none the less."

"Were they tied to a village? Or rogues?" Naruto's pulse quickened, he had known that the five in the stadium were ninja, but the others he had killed so quickly that he hadn't seen if they were.

"It would seem that they were trained independently. From what we could tell from their bodies none of them has been trained in any special jutsu or technique that corresponds to a village." Sai had warmed up over the last year, he was a little easier going but he still had a stiff side. It was one of the reasons he had chosen to enlist in the regular ANBU after the fall of Root, he was better suited to staying behind a mask.

Naruto nodded, "Ibiki? Anything from the survivors?"

"Not yet, they are being prepped for interrogation now. We can begin whenever you want us to."

"Let your people take a break, secure the prisoners then put a minimal rotating guard on them. Go enjoy today and interrogate them tomorrow, when Granny can deal with the particulars. If it's left to me to decide we wouldn't get much information out of them." His voice was a testament to his barely controlled fury. Taking a deep breath he continued, "As it is I should have left more survivors."

They both bowed slightly, "As you wish." The door closed behind them with a dull thud.

Looking out the window Naruto saw that the sun was already beginning to dip below the horizon. _I was really looking forward to this festival, it would've been some nice couple time with Hinata._ He sighed and shook his head. Being Hokage could definitely wait another couple of years.

His thoughts were interrupted when the door banged open, he would've been surprised if he hadn't been expecting it. "Hey Granny, how was your 'important matter'?" He turned to her with a grin.

"It's been dealt with," there was a touch of sorrow in her voice. "I hear you had an exciting day as Hokage."

When she approached the desk Naruto stood and offered her chair back. "I'm not sure exciting is quite the right word, eventful is probably better."

Seating herself she looked him over, "You look different. Oh, you're not wearing orange."

"Well killing twenty or so people with knives is a pretty blood affair. My track suit was trashed, this was the only thing the Hyuugas had. I kinda like it."

"I do too. Now, how are Nami and Hanabi?"

"Both fine, they just need some rest. Hanabi didn't take letting Nami be taken very well, but Hinata and I will snap her out of it." He dropped onto the couch, sprawling out. "I think I've decided to let you keep your job for now. I want to enjoy my daughter and Hinata for a little while longer if that's okay."

Tsunade laughed, "I'm not surprised. It's a very time consuming job, it's easy when you don't have people you want to spend time with.

"Speaking of which, I think I'm going to head out." He quickly recapped all of the reports he had received and when she had all the details he waved then teleported.

"Hinata you here?" He called when he appeared inside his home.

"Kitchen." Her voice called back. Loping into the room he wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her. She erupted in giggles, he silenced them with a kiss. They tilted their heads deepening it.

When he finally broke off for air Naruto buried his face in her neck, kissing her collarbone lightly. "I love you, babe. You know that right?"

"Of course I do. And I love you too." She entwined her fingers in his hair, holding him tighter to her.

They stood like that for a long few minutes, both reluctant to let go. After a time Hinata gently swatted at his chest, "Alright, go get ready. We have to be at the estate in a little while remember? Besides Nami is waiting for her Daddy to come pick her up."

He groaned, but obliged. Taking a quick shower he decided to continue wearing the black outfit. When he returned to the main room Hinata was reading a book on the couch. Dropping down next to her he started fishing something from his pocket.

"Before we go I want you to have something." Finally finding what it was he was looking for he offered her a thin rectangular box that had hinges on one of the shorter sides.

Taking it carefully she looked up at him, "Today is your birthday, people are supposed to give you presents today, not the other way around."

He smiled, "Just open the box. I could take it back you know." Playfully he reached a hand towards it.

She smacked his hand away, "Fine." Lifting the lid slowly she gasped. Inside was a beautiful necklace, it was made of silver and the pendant was in the shape of an eagle. Clasped in the eagle's talons was a pale amethyst that was almost the same color as her eyes.

"Turn it over." Following his instruction she flipped it, on the back was an engraving. The largest part was the Uzumaki crest and under it read 'I will always be there for you'. "It's a variation of the Flying Raijin formula. Just touch that crest with some of your chakra and it will alert me that you need me. I will come as soon as I can, no matter what."

She was speechless. When he offered to put it on her she handed it to him and turned around, lifting her hair out of the way. He did the clasp and kissed the back of her neck. She leaned back into him and just sat in his embrace for a while. "Thank you," she finally managed to say. "I love it. I love you." Turning she buried her face in his chest her arms wrapping around him. She never wanted to let go.

"We're going to be late." Naruto gently reminded her. "Wait, why are we going again? Aside from picking up Nami." He asked as she stood.

"You promised to help Father with some of the research into the Hyuuga clan, remember?" Hinata grabbed her sweatshirt, it had been a while since she felt the need to wear it, but it was turning into a chilly autumn.

"Oh yeah, that was today? I totally forgot." He shrugged and offered his open arms to her. In an instant they were standing just outside of the main building of the Hyuuga compound.

Hands intertwined they made their way inside, the whole building was dark and quiet. A moment later there was light and sound from all directions. Acting on pure reflex Naruto used the summoning formulas in the sleeves of his cloak to scatter some shuriken. Then he dropped into a low crouch and drew his blades, chakra humming through them. His eyes were alert for threats.

"Whoa, shit!" A familiar voice called out followed by a short bark.

"Naruto you idiot!" Another voice that he recognized, this one female.

Looking to them Naruto furrowed his brow, "Kiba? Sakura?" His eyes swept the rest of the room, all of them were there. All of his friends, it seemed as if everyone he had ever met was squeezed into the space. He could see Gaara smiling in one corner, Killer Bee close by, Kurenai-sensei was standing next to Shikamaru with her son in her arms, and many others all of them looking at him.

"Surprise," Kakashi-sensei said dryly from behind Sasuke.

"Why was your first reaction to murder all of your closest friends?" Ino teased. Hinata burst into laughter drawing most eyes to her.

"I told you it was a bad idea." She gasped.

"We talked about this for Hinata's party last year," Naruto whined. "Ninjas throwing a ninja a surprise party will only end badly." He shook his head but smiled, "I'm impressed though, keeping everyone quiet and still enough is quite a feat. Did I hit anybody?" He slid his daggers back into their sheaths.

He sighed when they all said they were unharmed. He hadn't been aiming anywhere in particular, the shuriken had been more of a distraction to ready his blades, but if he had caught any of them off guard it could've been tragic.

"Big Brother!" Hanabi sprinted out of the crowd and leaped into his arms and kissed his cheek. "Happy Birthday!"

He hugged her tightly, "Thanks Sis." Kissing her forehead he let her drop down to the ground. "I wasn't expecting a party at all, but for all of you to come...I'm blown away. Gaara, aren't you supposed to be running a village?" Naruto moved to shake hands with his friend.

"Kankuro can take care of things, he wanted to come too, but after everything that's happened lately we don't feel safe unless at least one of us is there." He gestured with his head to Temari, indicating that he meant all three of the Sand siblings. "He wanted me to pass on his birthday wishes and gift though. So Happy Birthday from me and Kankuro," at the gleam in the blonde's eyes he couldn't help but smile. "Patience, presents will come later."

Grumbling but smiling Naruto moved around the room, bumping knuckles, shaking hands, and receiving hugs. One of the last people he reached was Sasuke, the two glared at each other for a minute but the Uchiha reached out his hand. The two clasped forearms then drew in close for a quick, manly hug.

While they were close enough so that no one could hear them Sasuke said, "Happy Birthday, brother." Naruto pulled away grinning and Sasuke wore a smaller smile.

When he had made the rounds of the room he looked around briefly, "Where's my daughter?"

"I have her, Naruto-san." Hiashi made his way around the crowd from a side room, Nami held in his arms.

The little girl's bright green eyes were sweeping the room, as soon as she saw her father she smiled, "Dada!"

Naruto moved forward and scooped her up, tossing her lightly in the air. "There you are baby girl." He brought her down and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Did you sleep well?" She buried her face in his neck, seeming content to stay there.

Smiling Hiashi patted Naruto on the shoulder, "Happy Birthday." Looking back over the crowd he suggested, "Why don't we move this outside, everything is already set up."

Stepping outside Naruto couldn't hide the wide grin that broke across his face. The courtyard was set up similar to the way it had been for Neji's party a few months ago, but there was much more seating and food. This time in the middle of the head table sat Naruto, with Hinata at his right and Sasuke at his left.

The party was loud and long, in later days they would find out that people as far away as the stadium had thought they could here Naruto's laughing. It brought hope to the village and eased the nerves some had of everything that had happened. If Naruto Uzumaki was laughing, then all was well in the world.

It was well past dark when they finally got around to the presents. Everyone's favorite blonde was so eager that it took five minutes to get him to sit still and on three separate occasions he was so excited that he would accidentally teleport. Finally he had calmed down and everyone gathered around to hand him their presents.

A beginners guide to shogi from Shikamaru, a parenting book from Kurenai, and one of Kakashi's perverted books were the first to cross his lap and admittedly probably the least likely to be used. He appreciated the thought and effort though, even if he didn't use any of their presents he would be keeping every single one of them.

Temari gave him a scroll that was full of wind jutsu from all five major villages. Gaara gave him a jar of sand that, like Gaara's was tuned to his chakra, had been tuned to Naruto's chakra. It wasn't perfect but with practice he would get better at manipulating his own chakra and thereby the sand or anything else tuned to his chakra. Kankuro's gift was a small fox puppet and instructions on the basics of puppet master jutsu.

Tenten had gotten him a new cleaning and care kit for his daggers as well as offering to help him design some custom kunai since he had expressed an interest in trying to. Choji had managed to get him coupons for several free meals at some of the best food places around town, he looked a bit sad about giving them up until Naruto hinted that he might need someone to help him eat all the food. Lee gave him a pair of leg weights similar to the ones he and Guy wore except that these were the same shade of red as Naruto's cloak.

Ino gave him a card that offered free florist services for an event, Naruto was confused at first until she shot a meaningful look at Hinata and discreetly tapped her left ring finger where only he could see it. Sakura had found him a pair of fingerless gloves that while similar to her own were better suited to his blades and would still allow him to use Rasengan with no problems. Shino handed him a pair of shades that were similar to his own, but that were more stylized with red swirls down the arms.

Kiba and Akamaru gave Naruto probably the most sentimental gift of the group strangely enough. They gave him the stop watch that they used to us when they were all in the academy and would race each other for candy. This earned the pair many 'awws' and Kiba shuffled off muttering but smiling. Sasuke's gift was something that confused most of the people gathered. He simply walked up to Naruto and with two fingers tapped the blonde on the forehead. The birthday boy looked stunned for a moment and then beamed at his best friend. Only the two of them understood, but it had been one of the best presents Naruto could've hoped for. Sasuke had just laid claim to Naruto as his brother, as far as they were concerned they may as well have been blood.

As the night grew darker more and more presents were opened. Laughs, taunts, hugs, and more exchanged among the group. When the last present had been opened everyone looked to Hinata, she had yet to give Naruto anything. They watched as she approached Naruto and bent to say something in his ear. He grinned then surged up and lifted her off the ground.

"That's all I've ever wanted." He said, just loud enough for the confused onlookers to hear. They kissed, long and deep.

"Get a room," Kiba teased and threw a wad of paper at them.

A few more hours were spent just relaxing and enjoying each others presence. It wasn't often that all of Naruto's friends got the chance to get together and forget about the troubles of the world. They told battle stories and swapped tips and tricks. Reminisced about shared experiences, like the mission that the Sand siblings had helped to try and get Sasuke back on, and a similar mission where the Konoha 12 had raced to help Gaara save his first student Matsuri.

Eventually it was time for everyone to go home, those who had drank too much or were simply exhausted were offered a place to stay by Hiashi. Naruto made sure to see each and every one of his friends off. He wished he had more time in his life to see each of them. After everyone had gone Hinata helped him move all of his presents into one pile. Hiashi approached and asked what they were doing.

"I learned a trick from the Pervy Sage a while back. I wasn't interested in fuinjutsu back then so it didn't make much sense. Now that I'm looking into my clan's style and my father's personal jutsu I am actually starting to get the hang of it." Reaching into his vest Naruto pulled out a blank scroll. He tossed it over the pile and as it unrolled he executed a series of hand signs. Just as the scroll touched the top of the pile the presents under it vanished and a seal appeared on the scroll.

"I thought the scroll had to be under whatever it was you wanted to store in it." Hinata commented as she picked up Nami and got the sleepy baby ready to go home.

"If you have a blank scroll like I did sometimes it's easier to put it on top, that way you can create the seal and seal away the items in one go. As for position it is recommended that you place it under the items that way they come out the same way, however if you know what you're doing and memorize the position of the items you can put the scroll anywhere."

"Impressive," Hiashi said. "If you truly are starting to train in fuinjutsu as well as your wind jutsu on top of your new blade style you are going to quickly become one of the world's strongest shinobi. You may already be stronger than most of the Kage and yet you are still only 18 and getting stronger everyday. Most of the people in all five villages look up to you and yet you stay humble. You are a man to be admired and respected Naruto Uzumaki. I look forward to having you as my son-in-law." He turned and left. Acting for all the world like he hadn't said anything at all.

Picking up his storage scroll and replacing it in his vest Naruto looked to Hinata, "That was...interesting. I think that's the most words he's ever said to me. Ever." She giggled lightly, trying not to wake Nami. "Are you staying here tonight?" Naruto asked lightly, they were still trying to find a groove for their relationship. Neither of them felt that they needed a physical aspect beyond where they already were, but sometimes it was nice to just be near each other.

"If it's alright I'd like to stay at your place." She blushed lightly and looked up at him, making eye contact.

"I don't know what it is but you making eye contact has got to be one of the best things in the world. I can read everything about you in those eyes, just like in the war. Your thoughts, your hopes, your feelings. It's all right there. God I love your eyes." He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her eyelids lightly then her mouth. "C'mon, let's go home." He hugged her and the trio disappeared.


	20. The Clan

-Naruto-

As soon as he entered the small conference room he wanted to leave. At the table in the middle sat five people, Hiashi Hyuuga and four of the clan's elders. It was these four that spoke out in protest when the second person followed Naruto into the room.

"What is _he_ doing here?" They all said with varying levels of venom and spite. The man ignored them and took a seat in one of the remaining two chairs at the table.

Turning to look at the man in the middle of the Hyuugas Naruto gestured to the door and walls, "Hiashi-san, do you mind..." When the man shook his head the blonde pulled out a slip of paper with an intricate seal on it, in the middle was the trademark swirl of the Uzumaki crest. Slapping it on the door Naruto executed a series of quick hand signs and touched the middle of the swirl, the seal glowed softly for a second.

"What is that for?" One of the elders finally took his attention away from their unexpected guest.

"It will insure that what goes on in this room will be completely private, not even Byakugan can penetrate that seal." Allowing himself a small smile Naruto took his seat while all four elders activated that very kekkei genkai and tried to look through the walls. "It will also alert me if anyone gets too close to the door."

"Hiashi-sama, you cannot allow this." Another of the old Hyuugas spoke.

"If I had the talent I would have done the same myself. This is not a meeting that should be eavesdropped on." Hiashi had a carefully straight face.

"As for your very first question," all eight elderly eyes swiveled back to Naruto, "Sasuke is here as my adviser and a representative of the clans that support me." The Uchiha grunted and glared at them, "Now, should we get down to business or did you have other questions?"

When no one spoke up Hiashi began, "We are here to discuss the potential union of Hinata Hyuuga, heiress to our clan, and Naruto Uzumaki, clan head of the newly re-established Uzumaki clan. Those with objections please speak now." Naruto had to stop himself from grinning like a complete idiot at being referred to as a 'clan head'. Even Sasuke had a proud sort of smirk.

"There are several reasons why we elders think this union would not benefit our clan." Two sets of eyes, one cerulean and one pitch black turned steely.

"For example?" The words were a growl low in Sasuke's throat. Naruto reached out a hand to touch his foster brother's arm briefly, a silent plea to not do anything too rash.

"The Uzumaki clan currently holds no deeds in Konoha, save one house. How can they be a proper clan with no estate or compound." The man who said this flinched visibly at the harsh bark of laughter that escaped Sasuke.

"I thought you were going to start out with the serious sounding reasons and get to the pathetic excuses later." Digging into his pockets for a moment he handed Naruto two scrolls. "It was supposed to be a wedding present, but the clan establishment went faster than I thought."

Blinking curiously the blonde unrolled the first scroll. Reading quickly he gasped and practically tore the second one open. "Sasuke, are you sure? This is...unbelievable." He turned to his best friend stunned, at the second man's nod Naruto dug in his vest for a moment before pulling out ink and a pen. It was a matter of moments until both documents were signed.

"What was that? What are you doing?" Demanded one of the elders.

"I as clan head for the Uchiha just turned half of our land over to the Uzumaki clan. One of those is a deed, the other a brief agreement as to the terms of the transfer." All four elders looked furious, "And as for an estate I've arranged for an old friend to stop by, he's quite eager to see you again Naruto. After all, the last time he saw you he ended up naming a bridge after you."

Naruto grinned, "Tazuna? That old drunk is going to come build our estates? I only hope they will be as awesome as my bridge." It was all he could do to stay in his chair and not hug Sasuke, "Thank you, brother. This means a lot to me." He got a grunt and a small smile in return.

"This does not change our position on the union. There are several other reasons. Your clan currently consists of only two people, you and your daughter. A marriage with such a small clan couldn't possibly benefit the Hyuugas." It was Naruto's turn to laugh and produce a scroll. With a deft flick of his wrist it unrolled across the table.

"That is a list of my relatives that my wonderful cousin Karin managed to track down. Each and every one of them has been offered their rightful homes in our clan. Several have shown an interest and within the next few years the Uzumakis will begin to arrive in Konoha. Others aren't as quick to jump on board, but they will always have a family here." Naruto smiled. When he had talked to Karin about re-establishing the clan she had been ecstatic and almost immediately set out to find their family.

"I hope by 'small' you aren't implying weakness, if you are then you should turn around." Hiashi said this calmly, he had picked up the scroll and looked to be reading it interestedly.

All four elders looked behind them, a kunai hovered behind each of them. They looked similar to the Yondaime's special kunai except that these didn't have the two extra blades. The blade was shorter and thinner than a regular kunai as well as being flat. Each side of the kunai bore the Uzumaki crest.

"A good friend of mine helped me design those, also if you're wondering why they're hovering there that's pretty simple." Naruto raised his left hand which had been under the table up to this point. From each finger a thin blue strand seemed to flow under the table. "Chakra threads, I picked up a little puppeteer basics from the Kazekage's brother." A twitch of his fingers and the blades soared at him, vanishing one by one up his sleeve, never once slowing.

"You just stabbed yourself." One of the men nervously scoffed.

"Did I?" Naruto frowned slightly and pulled back his cloak sleeve revealing his bare arm. "Looks fine to me." The elders gasped slightly. On the inside of his forearm was a tattoo of a large fox. All along the foxes body were seals intricately woven in and around each other. Pointing to each one he muttered to himself, "Marked kunai, unmarked kunai, Uzumaki kunai, shuriken, smoke pellets, scrolls..." He ran down all of the tattoos on his arm, this took nearly a minute.

As he finished he looked back up at them, "Yeah none of my seals are broken." At their confused looks he chuckled, "It's a pain in the ass carrying all of my weapons around with me and summoning them uses more chakra than simply pulling them out of a sealed storage space. Don't worry, the tattoos aren't permanent." Turning to Sasuke he smiled slyly, "Although Hinata says that I look 'hot and bad ass' with tattoos. Her words not mine." Hiashi cleared his throat. Blushing slightly Naruto dropped his sleeve. "Right, the point being that with only a fraction of my skills and abilities I could probably wipe out your clan." He said these words calmly making eye contact with each elder.

"Never forget that Naruto-san did what an entire army of shinobi couldn't even hope to do." Rolling the scroll of names up he passed it back to the blonde, "I can't wait to meet the rest of your family, it should be an experience."

"Speaking of that," One of the four old men finally spoke up, "Are we sure that you even have the right to be clan head, your lineage may be that of a side branch." There was a sneer in the man's voice, he thought he had finally found what the elders were looking for, a reason to stop this marriage.

"Could very well be," Naruto nodded sagely, "However." He pulled a second scroll from his vest, "This is a petition signed by every adult that is on the other list. It is a consensus of my family that any old blood ties and structure of the Uzumaki clan be ignored and that we should start anew. It further states that every single one of them supports me to be the head of the clan and that they will follow me and my descendants as the main bloodline."

"What about finances? Even with the support of all the other members of your family there's no way the Uzumaki clan still has enough money to support itself, let alone make it a worthwhile ally." This was said with a smug grin which only got wider at Naruto's answer.

"You are absolutely right." The elder opened his mouth again but Naruto continued speaking, "Well you would be if I was just an Uzumaki. You seem to be forgetting something." The four old men looked slightly confused. "My full name is technically Naruto _Namikaze_ Uzumaki. My father managed to amass a surprising fortune, not to mention the fact that my mother and he were damn fine ninja and they had quite a bit of pay stashed away. Oh and there's also the stupid amount of monetary gifts that my newly formed clan has begun receiving, it seems that several Daimyo intend to gain my favor. Plus the five major villages have showered me quite generously in gifts, not to mention all the great things my friends have done for me. In short and put as modestly as possible, I'm a little bit rich. Which by extension makes my clan pretty well off too. Next concern." He leaned back and linked his hands behind his head.

The elders worked their jaws for a minute before one started speaking, "There's also-"

Naruto cut him off sitting forward quickly, "I'm sorry I don't mean to be rude. Actually I do, if this takes too much longer then I will be late to my daughter's first birthday party, and that is not okay. How about we stop with the bullshit reasons and skip to your real problem. You don't want Hinata, the woman I love, to marry me because of your precious _bloodline limit_." The last two words were pure venom.

The elders steeled their resolve, "Of course that's the reason. The Byakugan is for Hyuugas only, we will not tolerate it being used by another clan."

"Finally," Naruto sighed, "Too bad that's not really up to you." He turned to Sasuke, "Man the eleven of us are really going to mess up these clan lines, huh?" His friend smirked and nodded.

"What are you talking about? Of course it's up to us, we are the Hyuugas. We decide who in our clan is allowed to marry outside of it, and we will not allow one of our strongest Byakugan wielders to leave this clan." The man on the far left was standing now, barely containing his impatience with these two brats.

"No," Naruto rose slowly, his voice low. "You are merely an adviser, the decision rests with the clan head." His eyes held no warmth or friendliness, the elder stumbled backwards. "An agreement has been reached concerning kekkei genkai and secret clan techniques." He addressed the three elders who were still seated. "My generation is not like yours. A Hyuuga loves an Uzumaki. A Nara loves a Suna wind user. An Akimichi and a Yamanaka are getting quite close. And I'm pretty sure there will be pink haired Uchihas in the future." He received a punch on the arm, "My friends and I are too close to each other and the people around us to bother following your example. The major clans of this village have already discussed this and made a decision.

"We will cease binding our clans through arranged marriage. Our families will find love where they will and we will not prevent them or dictate their lives. However, in the interest of maintaining our family secrets the following was decided. Any child bearing blood from different clans that shows an aptitude for the jutsu or kekkei genkai of a clan other than their own will be trained by that clan. For example any child of mine and Hinata's who has the Byakugan will be trained by a Hyuuga, probably Hanabi. Or if, God forbid, an Uchiha boy marries an Uzumaki girl," another punch, "If their offspring show skill in fuinjutsu then I will train them or one of my clan will.

"This allows the secrets to stay within the walls of the clans, but allows the blood of all of our clans to strengthen each other. Seriously though," he turned to Sasuke his face pure joy, "Could you imagine a Sharingan enhanced Rasengan?" Turning back to the elders who were about to protest he raised a hand, "Like I said this has already been decided. The Uzumaki, Hyuuga, Uchiha, Aburame, Inuzuka, Nara, Sarutobi,Yamanaka, and Akimichi clan heads met a few weeks ago to decide this. We have already written up and signed the altered treaties. This matter is settled." He sat back down.

"As for the union of my daughter and Naruto-san, in accordance with this new treaty Hinata will step down as the Hyuuga heiress and pass the title to her sister. She will then be free to depart our clan of her own will to marry into another." Hiashi smiled at Naruto. "You have my permission as her father and clan head."

"You should all know," Naruto addressed the elders more warmly. "I will be proud to say that my children bear Hyuuga blood, you are a strong and noble clan." He and Sasuke rose to leave, turning back he said, "Hiashi-san, you'll be at Nami's party right?"

"I wouldn't miss it." Without a backwards glance the blonde man and the raven haired man made their exit.

-Hinata-

Hinata looked up from where she was sitting on the floor when someone knocked on the door. She was about to get up and answer it but she didn't trust the little girl sitting in front of her. Nami had a tendency to disappear if you looked away for too long and it would be a few minutes before anyone could find where she crawled off to, even with Byakugan.

"Hanabi, sweetie could you get the door? It's probably the boys." She called to her sister. The younger Hyuuga nodded and skipped to the door.

"Big Brother!" She squealed when the door opened. It didn't take long for Naruto to stride into the room, a struggling Hanabi tossed over his shoulder. Behind him Sasuke followed at a more sedate pace.

"Hey babe," her blonde boyfriend said when he saw Hinata. "I think you guys have a pest problem. Don't worry though, I caught the queen." He shrugged his shoulder indicating Hanabi, the young girl squealing more when he reached up to tickle her.

Hinata giggled, "Are you just going to take that Hanabi?" Her sister pouted for a second and then struck one of Naruto's chakra points, causing his left arm to go limp. Twisting slightly the girl landed and stuck her tongue out at him.

"That's just plain cheating." It was Naruto's turn to pout. After a moment Hanabi relented and released his arm. He scooped her back up and kissed her soundly on the cheek, "Good to see you Sis, you're getting too good at that." Dropping her after she returned the kiss he turned to Hinata, "How has your day been?"

"Eventful, our little troublemaker is still up to it." Hinata picked Nami up, the little girl had been quietly watching her father. "She kept asking for you."

"I'm sorry baby girl. Daddy had some family business to take care of." He held his arms out for her. She cried when he took her and buried herself in his vest, clutching at it like her life depended on it. "Aw, I am sorry baby. I tried to get back fast." He bounced her lightly.

Turning to Sasuke, Hinata asked, "So how was it, as bad as we thought?"

"Worse even," The Uchiha shrugged, "We handled it though, the end result was as we planned."

Hinata squealed and hugged him, after a quick kiss on his cheek she moved to Naruto and hugged him and Nami. "We're going to be married!"

"Of course we are," Naruto smiled and wrapped his free arm around her. "But first, we need to get back to my house. There's a lot of people waiting on this little one." He kissed both their foreheads and navigated them towards the door. "Come along you two, can't have you missing out on this," he shouted back to Sasuke and Hanabi.

A short time later the five of them walked into Naruto's home. Several people were already there waiting and a small cake was set out on the table.

"Happy Birthday Nami!" They all said together. The little girl looked around at all the familiar faces and giggled. Kakashi was the first one to reach her and steal her away from her parents.

For the next few hours everyone fawned over Nami. She never spent long on the ground and even when she was there was someone there playing with her or talking to her. Naruto smiled, he had lived for so long not having anyone that he was happy to call everyone in the room his family. He was happy that his daughter would never be alone, even if he couldn't always be there for her.

"Hey Uzumaki-sama," Shikamaru said playfully.

Naruto shook his head, "Why do people insist on calling me that? There's nothing lordly about me."

"You do realize that by becoming a clan head you've just given them an actual reason to call you that." The Nara clan head chuckled when Naruto's eyes widened.

The blonde sank to his knees dramatically, his head hanging, "What have I done?" He asked making his voice sound horror filled. A few people laughed but then went silent, in fact the whole room was silent.

"Naruto." Hinata whisper shouted at him. He could feel Shikamaru's hand on his shoulder shaking him lightly.

Confused Naruto looked up and froze in surprise. A few feet in front of him Nami was standing on her own, Hinata was close enough to catch her but the girl wasn't holding on to anything. Carefully and slowly she moved forward, wobbling a little but her eyes set on her father.

"Dada." She looked worried, like she didn't know why Naruto was sad. With a few slow shaky steps the little girl walked to him, the whole room holding their breath. Another couple of steps and she was standing in front of him.

The grin that spread across Naruto's face was one that his friends would never forget. It wasn't mischievous or playful like his trademark grin. This one was full of pride and pure joy. "That's my baby girl." He reached out and pulled her into his arms, "I'm so proud of you." In a moment Hinata had joined them. Naruto looked up at her for a moment and then reached into his vest, pulling out a small velvet box.

Shifting so that Nami was facing Hinata too he held the box up. "Hinata Hyuuga, will you marry me?" He flipped the lid open to reveal a white gold ring that was set with a bright sapphire that matched his eyes.

After only a moment's hesitation she dropped to the floor and hugged both of them, "Yes, yes, yes." Pulling back briefly she kissed him full on the mouth and didn't pull away until her lungs burned. "Of course I'll marry you. Did you forget your birthday present already?"

"No, I remember. I just felt like you deserved the full proposal." He smiled warmly at her and it was another smile that none of them would forget in the years to come. His face wasn't that of the prankster or that of the warrior. They had all seen those faces. This was the face of a man in love.

"I hate to ruin the moment," Kiba spoke up, "But what did she give you for your birthday. All we saw was her whisper something."

Naruto laughed. "She gave me her life. She said and I quote, 'My present to you is all that I am. Mind body, and soul. From now until the day we die and for eternity after that.'"

"Wait so have you two-"

"Kiba!" Sakura punched the dog ninja into the ground. Hinata was blushing and hiding her face in her new fiance's shoulder.

From then on the party was one part engagement and one part birthday. Nami refused to be held by anyone but Hinata or Naruto. The only time she even let them put her down was when she saw the cake. Of course most of the cake ended up on the floor, walls, and strangely in Naruto's hair. After a short scuffle the new hair accessory had been thoroughly shared with Sasuke.

Everyone was in high spirits as the party wound down. Nami had long since fallen asleep as much as she tried to stay awake. Their friends helped clean up the mess that comes from a small child being handed throw-able objects. With wishes for a good night and various wedding suggestions the group dispersed.


End file.
